Rajasthan Royals leg spinner Shreyas Gopal became the 2nd bowler in Vivo IPL 12 to bag a hat-trick after Sam Curran when he achieved the feat during the 49th match of the tournament. It as persistent rain in the city of Bangalore which prevented the start of play for the first three and a half hours. Showers kept pouring down and despite continuous efforts to flush out the water, no match was possible till 11:26.
After winning the toss it was Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli who won the toss and opted to bat. After the match started, it was the captain himself who took on Varun Aaron with disdain as the fast bowler was smashed for 23 runs in the very first over of the match. Virat Kohli smashed Shreyas Gopal for a six and a four to start of the 2nd over.
He came back strongly in the next three deliveries to complete a sensational hat-trick. Virat Kohli went for another big shot but was holed out in the deep. AB de Villiers who crossed over was dismissed in the very next delivery as he went for a six. The ball went straight up in the air and it was 17-year old Riyan Parag who didn’t make a mistake.
Gopal’s hat-trick dismissal was Marcus Stoinis who attempted to place ball just over the cover fielders. However, he failed to bisect the fielders and was holed out in the 30 yards circle. It was an exceptional achievement from the youngster who has now managed to pick the wickets of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers in the same match on 3 occasions.
— Arya Chakraborty (@AryaMady) April 30, 2019
Royal Challengers Bangalore kept losing wickets and eventually managed to score 62/7 in their allotted 5 overs. Sanju Samson began in a sensational manner smashing the RCB bowlers all around the park. Liam Livingstone also looked in sublime touch and took on the RCB bowlers. It was Yuzvendra Chahal who dismissed Sanju Samson. However, that was the final delivery of the match as showers again kept pouring down.