Picture Credit: BCCI/IPL
Royal Challengers Bangalore registered a thumping victory against Lucknow Super Giants by 14 runs to book a place in the Qualifier 2 of Indian Premier League 2022. Rajat Patidar's unbeaten 112 off 55 deliveries and Dinesh Karthik's blistering 37 off 23 balls helped Bangalore to post 207 in the first innings.
In response, KL Rahul (79) and Deepak Hooda (45) played valuable knocks and steadied the shift with their 96-run partnership, but they accelerated a bit too late and left too much for their finishers as LSG fell short by 14 runs in the chase. However, KL Rahul made the game nail-biting as he kept hitting boundaries and kept Lucknow's hope alive, but Josh Hazlewood's brilliant bowling spoiled his efforts as Shahbaz Ahmed caught him in the 19th over of the game.
Lucknow needed 23 runs in the final over with Evin Lewis and Dushmantha Chameera on the crease, but Harshal Patel's outstanding bowling in death overs helped Bangalore set up the date with Rajasthan Royals in Qualifier 2. As Bangalore's victory was ensured and Harshal Patel finished the formalities with the last two deliveries, Virat Kohli urged the crowd to chant RCB, RCB, RCB.
The moment final delivery was bowled, all the Bangalore players including former skipper Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis and others, went into ecstasy. Kohli was seen punching his fist in the air in joy as he ran toward his players to celebrate the thrilling victory in the Eliminator.
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Speaking of the game, Rahul had won the toss and opted to bowl against Royal Challengers Bangalore in Kolkata. The toss was delayed due to rain at the Eden Gardens, and the match began at 8:10 PM, being pushed by 40 minutes. Bangalore had an unlikely start to their innings as Faf du Plessis was out on a duck in a must-win game, but Kohli and Patidar held the fort and added 66 runs for second wickets.
Glenn Maxwell (9 off 10) and Lomror (37 off 23) marked their brief presence, but Patidar and Dinesh Karthik stole the show towards the end. Hazlewood and Siraj bowled at the economy of 10.80 and 10.20, respectively, but picked crucial wickets in the game for Bangalore. Harshal Patel and Wanindu Hasaranga, too, picked one wicket each in the second innings.