Rajasthan Royals beat Royal Challengers Bengaluru by four wickets in a thrilling Indian Premier League 2024 Eliminator match at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.
Yashasvi Jaiswal top-scored in the match with 45 off 30 balls as the Royals got to 174/6 and sealed the match with an over to spare. Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer and Rovman Powell made important contributions with the bat as the Royals progressed to the Qualifier 2. Mohammed Siraj picked up two wickets for RCB.
The result also ended RCB’s impressive six-match winning streak that powered them to the IPL 2024 playoffs.
Rajat Patidar top-scored for RCB with 34 as they got to 172/8. Avesh Khan was the pick among the Royals’ bowlers with 3/44 whereas Ravichandran Ashwin finished with 2/19 off four overs while Trent Boult bowled a tight spell for 1/16 in his quota.
Opting to bowl first, the Royals’ pacer Boult dismissed RCB skipper Faf du Plessis with Rovman Powell taking a blinder in the deep. The left-armer had excellent figures of 1/6 after his first three, bowling 13 dot balls, as RCB ended the powerplay at 50/1.
Yuzvendra Chahal sent back in-form Virat Kohli for 33 with his second ball of the night to become the Royals’ highest wicket-taker in the IPL as RCB reached 76/2 at the halfway stage.
Meanwhile, Ashwin bowled one of his best spells for the Royals this season, including two wickets in his final over, to be awarded the Player of the Match. The veteran off-spinner, remarkably, did not concede a single boundary in his spell.
Avesh dismissed Rajat Patidar first before picking up two more wickets to cap off an impressive final two overs conceding just 14 runs including three wickets. RCB managed only 47 runs in the last six overs, as they set the Royals with a target of 173.
In reply, the openers were circumspect initially before Jaiswal hit four boundaries in an over to set the ball rolling as the Royals moved to 47/1 at the end of six overs.
The Royals were put on the backfoot as two wickets fell in quick succession. Jaiswal got out for 43, which included eight fours, before skipper Sanju Samson was also dismissed as they needed 87 from the last 10 overs.
But Parag and Hetmyer added 45 runs off just 25 balls for the fifth wicket to calm the nerves. Parag hit two sixes and two fours before getting dismissed for 36. Meanwhile, Hetmyer got 26 off 14 hitting three fours and a six as Powell hit the winning runs for the Royals.
The Royals will be up against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Qualifier 2 of the IPL 2024 playoffs at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on May 24.
RR vs RCB IPL 2024 Eliminator brief scores: Royal Challengers Bengaluru 172/8 (Rajat Patidar 34, Virat Kohli 33, Avesh Khan 3/44, Ravichandran Ashwin 2/19) beat Rajasthan Royals 174/6 (Yashasvi Jaiswal 45, Riyan Parag 36, Mohammed Siraj 2/33) by four wickets. Get the full RR vs RCB scores here.
