Bengaluru dominates Rajasthan in IPL as Mumbai ends Delhi’s unbeaten streak

JAIPUR, India (AP) — Virat Kohli and Phil Salt struck attacking half-centuries to help Royal Challengers Bengaluru register a dominant nine-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League on Sunday.

Salt hit six sixes and five fours in scoring 65 off 33 balls, while Kohli finished 62 not out off 45 balls. Riding on a 92-run opening stand from the duo, Bengaluru reached 175-1 in 17.3 overs.

Yashasvi Jaiswal’s 75 off 47 balls proved to be in vain as Rajasthan Royals finished with a below-par 173-4 in 20 overs.

With the win, Bengaluru climbed to third in the table with four wins in six games. Rajasthan is eighth after its fourth defeat in six games.

In Sunday’s second game, Mumbai Indians ended Delhi Capitals’ unbeaten run with a 12-run victory.

Mumbai was propped up by Tilak Varma’s 59 off 33 balls, finishing on 205-5. Its spinners choked the home side with impact player Karn Sharma taking 3-36 in four overs.

Mitchell Santner claimed 2-43, plus a sensational fielding effort, as Delhi lost its last three wickets to consecutive run-outs. Delhi was dismissed for 193 in 19 overs.

Put into bat, Rajasthan lost skipper Sanju Samson for 15 runs. He was stumped off Krunal Pandya (1-29) in the seventh over, after putting on 49 off 41 balls with Jaiswal.

Jaiswal made a quick start and raced to 50 off 35 balls, his second half-century of the season.

He added 56 off 39 balls with Riyan Parag (30 off 22) and then another 21 off 16 with Dhruv Jurel. But Bengaluru kept a tight leash on proceedings with no Rajasthan batter able to generate any real momentum.

Jaiswal was out lbw to Josh Hazlewood (1-26) in the 16th over, and it was Jurel’s 35 not out off 23 balls, including two sixes, that allowed Rajasthan to score 47 in the last four overs.

Hurting from a home loss against Delhi Capitals, Bengaluru rebounded in spectacular fashion.

Salt made a blistering start and raced to 50 off 28 balls, hitting four sixes. He put on 50 off 30 balls with Kohli and then further pushed the opening stand to 92 off 52 balls, which did half the job for his team.

After Salt was dismissed in the ninth over, Kohli took charge of the chase and never gave Rajasthan a sniff.

Impact player Devdutt Padikkal helped out with 40 not out off 28 balls as Kohli eased to yet another IPL half-century, this one off 39 balls.

Kohli and Padikkal added 83 off 54 balls as Bengaluru won with 15 balls to spare.

Put into bat, Mumbai had opener Ryan Rickelton hit 41 off 25 balls. Suryakumar Yadav scored 40 off 28, with the duo hitting two sixes each.

Kuldeep Yadav took 2-23 in four overs, signaling a slower surface at Delhi. Varma then hit six fours and three sixes, notching a second half-century this season.

Naman Dhir provided the finishing touch and used the short boundaries to good effect – he scored 38 not out off 17 balls, with two sixes, adding 62 off only 33 balls with Varma.

The duo pushed Mumbai past 200 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.

In reply, the hosts lost Jake Fraser-McGurk for a golden duck but Karun Nair returned to IPL action with a half-century after seven years. The impact player scored 89 off 40 balls, hitting five sixes, and putting on 119 off 61 balls with Abhishek Porel (33).

Delhi was ahead at the halfway stage, when the wet ball was changed and Mumbai’s spin sprung into action.

Karn Sharma got rid of Porel, and then sent back in-form Lokesh Rahul for 15. Santner bowled Nair in the 12th over in a game-changing moment.

Delhi’s lower order collapsed under pressure, losing the last four wickets for just 13 runs, including a hat trick of runouts for the final three wickets.

Mumbai climbed to seventh with its second win, while Delhi slipped to second with a first loss this season.

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

Mumbai Indians' Ryan Rickelton, left, celebrates after breaking the stumps to get Delhi Capitals' Ashutosh Sharma, right, out during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, India, Monday, April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Mumbai Indians' Karn Sharma, center, celebrates with teammates the dismissal of Delhi Capitals' KL Rahul during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, India, Monday, April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Mumbai Indians' Karn Sharma lies on the ground after failing to field a shot during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, India, Monday, April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Delhi Capitals' KL Rahul walks off the field after losing his wicket during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, India, Monday, April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Mumbai Indians' captain Hardik Pandya, right, hugs Delhi Capitals' captain Axar Patel after his team won the Indian Premier League cricket match against Delhi Capitals at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, India, Monday, April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Royal Challengers Bengaluru's Phil Salt plays a shot during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, India, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Surjeet Yadav)

Royal Challengers Bengaluru's Phil Salt celebrates his fifty runs during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, India, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Surjeet Yadav)

Royal Challengers Virat Kohli congratulates Bengaluru's Phil Salt for his fifty runs during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, India, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Surjeet Yadav)

Royal Challengers Bengaluru's Virat Kohli celebrates his fifty runs during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, India, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Surjeet Yadav)

Royal Challengers Bengaluru's Virat Kohli and Rajasthan Royals' captain Sanju Samson chat during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, India, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Surjeet Yadav)

Royal Challengers Bengaluru's Virat Kohli plays a shot during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, India, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Surjeet Yadav)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.

Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.

Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”

Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”

Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.

“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”

He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”

Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.

More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.

In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.

Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”

Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.

“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.

The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.

The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.

Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.

In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)