The Indian Premier League eliminator was evenly poised until the 15th over of the chase, with Royal Challengers Bengaluru breathing down Rajasthan Royals’ neck.
However, Riyan Parag (36, 26b) and Shimron Hetmyer (26, 14b) cut out the noise, weathered the storm and guided the Royals to a four-wicket win – with a crucial 45-run partnership for the fifth wicket – and knocked RCB out of the tournament.
With a near-packed Narendra Modi Stadium cheering it on, RCB clawed its way back into the game mid-way, riding on a dream spell by Cameron Green and some aggressive fielding by Virat Kohli as Royals lost three quick wickets after cruising at 81 for one at a stage during its chase of 173.
Placed in a precarious situation, Royals desperately needed a steady stand, and an-form Parag ensured he rebuilt the innings with Hetmyer, who returned to action after a couple of weeks and put the pressure back on RCB.
AS IT HAPPENED – RR vs RCB ELIMINATOR
The young Parag hit a six and a four off Green, while Hetmyer added another maximum off Green to fight back, and as they accelerated the strike, RCB slowly lost the plot. However, there was still some twist in the tale as Mohammed Siraj cleaned up Parag on the second ball of the 18th over and followed it up with the wicket of Hetmyer three deliveries later.
With 13 needed off the final two overs, West Indies captain Rovman Powell took the responsibility and ensured there was no slip-up, as he hit two consecutive boundaries off Lockie Ferguson before sealing the deal with a six.
Having booked a place in the playoffs with six consecutive wins in the league stage, sloppy fielding early on hurt RCB. Chasing a rather below-par target, the Royals were off to a steady thanks to openers Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Yashasvi Jaiswal. Despite the Englishman falling to Ferguson, Jaiswal and captain Sanju Samson steadied the ship before the Mumbai batter was caught behind by Dinesh Karthik off Green, and it was followed by a needless Samson stumping.
There were debates over a couple of umpiring decisions, with reviews showing that Green wasn’t in command of the ball while running out Dhruv Jurel. But television umpire Anil Choudhary gave the verdict in RCB’s favour.
This was the second debatable decision of the evening as earlier Karthik was given a reprieve by Choudhary despite a spike on the UltraEdge.
But in the end, the dubious decisions did not hamper Rajasthan Royals’ chances as it finished things off with an over to spare.
Earlier in the evening, Royals’ decision to bowl first eventually paid off as it managed to restrict RCB to a decent total, courtesy of a fiery spell by Trent Boult, who set the tone with the new ball.
The seasoned campaigner bowled three overs in the PowerPlay and conceded just six runs, and en route, claimed the wicket of Faf du Plessis. While Kohli could score just 33 despite a headstart, the Royals bowlers gave no width to the openers and kept the run rate in check during the powerplay.
The seasoned R. Ashwin’s spell in the middle overs made the difference as he gave nothing away, finishing with figures of two for 19.
Avesh Khan, who gave away 30 runs in his first two overs, came back brilliantly at the fag end as Royals conceded just 47 in the last five overs, denying RCB a final flourish. And with that, its hopes of winning a maiden title, too, were gone with the wind.