Joy in Eden for Royal Challengers Bangalore! The so-called bridesmaids of IPL beat Lucknow Super Giants by 14 runs to set up a May 27 date with Rajasthan Royals at Ahmedabad. And the occasion will be Qualifier 2 of the IPL 2022. The Eliminator started under ominous circumstances with rain delaying the start of the match at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata. The playing field at the iconic venue was covered, giving a sense of uncertainty even as the who's of who of world cricket and the ever vociferous Kolkata crowd gathered to witness the knock-out. After a delay of more than an hour, KL Rahul won the toss and opted to bowl first. The decision was vindicated by his pacers, removing the RCB's top three cheaply. But only that much. Then, an uncapped Rajat Patidar changed the course of the match, hitting an unbeaten 112 off 54 balls, laced with 12 fours and seven sixes... as the famed Lucknow pace attack fizzled, with none taking more than a wicket.
Patidar, who came in as an injury replacement late in the season, found a perfect ally in ever-creative Dinesh Karthik (37 not out of 23). The third highest scorer of the innings was Virat Kohli, who laboured to 25 off 24.
The chase also got off to a wobbly start, with Lucknow losing dangerous Quinton de Kock in the first over itself. Manan Vohra also flirted with 19 runs. Then skipper KL Rahul dropped anchor, and together with Deepak Hooda (45 off 26), he kept LSG's hunt alive. But in the penultimate over, Josh Hazlewood snubbed the life out of the debutants with the wickets of Rahul (79 off 58) and Krunal Pandya (0 off 1). In the final over, the equation became 24 off 6. Harshal Patel started with back-to-back wides, and conceded a six off the third. But the RCB pacer still ended up leaking only nine runs. Catch LSG vs RCB, IPL 2022 Eliminator highlights and cricket scores.
