IPL 2024: Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) competed against one another in the Indian Premier League’s (IPL 2024) eliminator match to earn a spot in Friday’s Qualifier 2 matchup against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Sanju Samson, the skipper, won the toss and decided to bowl first in an attempt to take full advantage of the dew effect in the second inning. While Bengaluru started with the same lineup, Shimron Hetmyer returned to the starting lineup for the Royals, which is a big plus.
After 7 overs and a first strategic time out, Royal Challengers Bengaluru are 56/1.
The Royal Challengers Bengaluru openers were wary of Trent Boult’s swing and effectively countered it, so they had a cautious start. Both Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli were successful in setting boundaries without taking many chances. But in an attempt to step it up, du Plessis left the field when Rovman Powell made an outstanding catch, bringing the Bangalore-based team’s Cameron Green to the crease.
Second Strategic Time Out: Royal Challengers Bengaluru, 134/5 after 16 overs
Together, the two were a great complement, and they frequently tried to switch up the attack. However, Yuzvendra Chahal took out Virat Kohli, the important wicket that gave the team momentum, shortly after the tactical time-out. Rajat Patidar took the crease with the intention of keeping the team’s innings stable.
With both hitters hitting the boundaries regularly, Cameron Green and Patidar put together an excellent 43-run partnership. But Ravichandran Ashwin’s final over proved to be even more disastrous for Bengaluru, as he removed both Glenn Maxwell and Cameron Green in back-to-back deliveries.
Also read: IPL 2024 Eliminator: RR Uses Hetmyer as Impact Sub, RCB Unchanged
Despite having a rough day, Avesh Khan was still able to remove the dangerous Rajat Patidar thanks to a well-executed short-ball strategy. The third umpire’s contentious decision kept the seasoned hitter at the crease even though he had the opportunity to remove Dinesh Karthik on the following ball.
Bengaluru’s Royal Challengers score 172/8 after 20 overs.
During the death overs, Dinesh Karthik and Mahipal Lomror attempted to assist the team with a barrage of boundaries. In the end, Avesh Khan removed Dinesh Karthik with a short ball and removed Lomror three balls after that. After brief appearances from Karn Sharma and Swapnil Singh, Royal Challengers Bengaluru eventually finished at 172/8