Rajat Patidar’s daring strike propelled Royal Challengers Bangalore to a 14-match win over first team Lucknow Super Giants in the Indian Premier League (IPL) Knockout Tournament at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Wednesday.
Patidar’s first hundred undefeated T20 (112 zeros, 54b, 12×4, 7×6) allowed Royal Challengers to post a big 207 quadruple. They limited the Super Giants to 193 to six in front of a partisan house to reach Qualifier 2 against Rajasthan Royals in Ahmedabad.
After bad weather delayed the game with 55 minutes and 40 minutes remaining, the Royal Challengers were brought into a used field, having lost captain Faf du Plessis to Mohsin Khan in the first game.
When Virat Kohli (25, 24b, 2×4) wanted to consolidate, Patidar mainly chose the air lane to play big shots. He picked Krunal Pandya for special treatment in season six and helped his team collect 52 runs in PowerPlay.
AS IT HAPPENED | RCB vs LSG Highlights, IPL Eliminater 2022: RCB beat LSG with 14 game win, to face RR in Qualifier 2
Kohli fell into the wrong place with Avesh Khan, ending his 66-time partnership with Patidar.
Patidar continued to be confident and fine-tuned his shots to reap the benefits. He lazily skipped Ravi Bishnoi with 6, 4, 6, 4 and 6 in the medium to long term as the spinner leaked 27 runs in the 16th round. To Bishnoi’s utter disappointment , Deepak Hooda beat Patidar at 76th on the midline.
The 28-year-old Madhya Pradesh, who once again got the goal at 93, pulled Mohsin to a whopping six to reach his century. He added 92 runs with Dinesh Karthik (37 no, 23b, 5×4, 1×6), who once again shone in his guest shot, as the Royal Challengers passed 200 for the second time this season.
Negligence has let the Super Giants fail in the last five passes, spanning 84 runs.
READ | Who is Rajat Patidar, RCB player who hit 100 out of 49 balls in Eliminator vs LSG match
In response, the Super Giants lost the two butterflies inside the five rings. But captain KL Rahul beat Mohammed Siraj with two points six and four on the inside in the sixth inning and took his team to 62 in PowerPlay.
Backed by some stellar punchers, the Royal Challengers pitchers – led by precise Wanindu Hasaranga and deft Harshal Patel – have kept it locked in the vicious circle in between.
Rahul (79, 58b, 3×4, 5×6), who has had half a century of his life, and Hooda (45, 26b, 1×4, 4×6) tried to slow down the stutter. But Hasaranga entered Hooda after being beaten in two and six rounds to break a 96-game partnership.
Josh Hazelwood put off Rahul and Krunal Pandya in the 19th century as du Plessis made good use of his resources to secure a thrilling victory.
