IPL 2022: Rajasthan Royals beat RCB to reach final
Rajasthan Royals overcame Royal Challengers Bangalore in Qualifier 2 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 on Friday. Asked to bat, RCB managed 157/8 in 20 overs. Rajat Patidar slammed a crucial 58. For RR, pacers Prasidh Krishna and Obed McCoy claimed three wickets each. In response, RR chased down the target (161/3) after the openers laid a strong foundation. Here's more.
RCB (9/1) lost Virat Kohli (7) early on before Faf du Plessis and Patidar added a crucial 70-run stand for the second wicket. RR hit back thereafter, claiming wickets at crucial junctures. RCB managed 157/8 in the end. In response, RR were off to a flier with the openers adding 61 runs. Jos Buttler smashed another terrific unbeaten century to help his side win.
Faf scored a 27-ball 25, slamming three fours. He is the only RCB batter to notch 350-plus runs in the ongoing season. Faf has 468 runs at 31.20. Overall, Faf has surpassed the 3,400-run mark. He has amassed 3,403 runs at 34.37. Against RR, Faf has 372 runs at an average of 28.16.
Kohli managed to score just seven runs tonight for RCB. However, the 33-year-old has got to 600 IPL runs versus RR. He has an average of 27.27 versus the Royals. Kohli has become the fourth player to score 600-plus runs versus RR. In 16 games, Kohli managed 341 runs this season at 22.73.
After scoring a century in the IPL 2022 Eliminator, Patidar scored a decent 42-ball 58. He smashed four fours and three sixes. In eight matches this season,. Patidar slammed 333 runs at an average of 55.50. This was his second fifty in IPL 2022.
RR pacer Prasidh Krishna claimed three wickets for 22 runs. It's his joint-second best figures in T20 cricket. In 16 games this season, Prasidh has claimed 18 scalps at 28.38. Obed McCoy (3/23) was excellent for RR. In six games, McCoy has 11 wickets this season at 19.18. Ashwin has raced to 157 IPL wickets. He has equaled the mark of Piyush Chawla.
The pacers claimed seven wickets, conceding 73 runs in 12 overs against RCB. They clocked an economy rate of just 6.08. Meanwhile, the duo of R Ashwin (1/31) and Yuzvendra Chahal (0/45) gave away 76 runs in eight overs of spin (ER 9.50).
The Englishman slammed his fourth IPL century this season (106*). He has become the first batter this season to surpass the 800-run mark (824). Overall, Buttler has five IPL hundreds, equaling Kohli's tally. He has matched Kohli's record of most hundreds in a season (4). Buttler has gone past Yuvraj Singh (2,750) and Virender Sehwag (2,728) in terms of IPL runs.
RR will face Gujarat Titans in the final of the IPL 2022 season. The Royals had earlier lost in Qualifier 1 versus GT. They will want to avenge the same and win their second IPL honor.
RCB spinner Wanindu Hasaranga (1/26) claimed the crucial wicket of Sanju Samson. The Sri Lankan ace has raced to 26 wickets this season, equaling Yuzvendra Chahal's mark. Josh Hazlewood (2/23) has 20 scalps this season at 18.85. He became the third pacer to claim 20 or more wickets this season.
