Royals eliminate RCB to set up knockout against SRH

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) came into the IPL 2024 Eliminator with six successive wins behind them, and Rajasthan Royals (RR) with five successive winless games. But there really is no such thing as momentum in sport, and certainly not in a sport as fickle as T20.

Royals won an important toss, and their bowlers delivered a superb performance to restrict RCB to 172 at a venue where dew makes chasing significantly easier than setting targets.

It was a game of two halves, as RR got over the line with an over to spare despite a number of nervy moments in their chase.

It was also a game of two ends. One square boundary in Ahmedabad was significantly longer than the other, and the RR bowlers used this asymmetry brilliantly. RCB scored 51 for 6 in their odd-numbered overs, when the longer boundary was to the leg side for the right-hand batter, and 121 for 2 from the other end.

It wasn't a coincidence that Trent Boult, R Ashwin and Avesh Khan, RR's best bowlers on the night, did the bulk of their bowling from the favourable end.

The imbalance existed even when RR batted: 111 for 1 in ten overs from one end, and 63 for 5 in nine overs from the other. It helped RR that they had right-left pairs occupying the crease for longer than RCB did, but not to a massive extent.

In the end, it came down to the total RCB put on the board. Faf du Plessis, their captain, admitted that they were about 20 runs short. He felt it was a 180 pitch when RCB batted, and a significantly higher-scoring one, thanks to the dew, when RR chased.

RR are now through to Qualifier 2 against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Chennai on Friday. For RCB, this is another trophyless season but one that will be remembered fondly for many years to come.