In Qualifier 2 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022, Rajasthan Royals (RR) defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by seven wickets at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
After winning the toss, Sanju Samson opted to bowl first. It was a wise choice as the team knew what exactly the target was in the second innings. The Jaipur based team did extremely well in the first innings too as bowlers successfully restricted RCB to a total of 157/8. Prasidh Krishna and Obed McCoy were brutal to batsmen along with Trent Boult and Ravichandran Ashwin who were economical. No batsman could find answers to what RR bowlers were producing.
In the chase, both the RR openers started with fireworks at the Narendra Modi Stadium as Yashasvi Jaiswal‘s (21) quickfire runs at the start gave a boost to RR in the powerplay. Along with him, Jos Buttler (106*) also once again showed his class and smashed a century. The Englishman right from the start looked to dominate the proceedings and finish the game before 20 overs. The right-handed batsman hammered 10 fours and six sixes at a strike rate of 176.67 and ensured RR a place in the finals. Captain Samson (23) also played a cameo in the middle overs but mainly it was all about rotating the strike and letting Buttler do the job.
In the first innings, there were many batters who got the start but couldn’t capitalise on it. Captain Faf du Plessis (25) was looking in good rhythm but didn’t work out for long. Rajat Patidar (58) was the only exception as he scored a fifty and took RCB to a respectable total. Glenn Maxwell (25) also tried his best but the score just wasn’t enough on the given pitch.
Obed McCoy and Prasidh Krishna scalped three wickets each and also gave very limited runs to RCB batters. Along with them, Ashwin and Boult also managed to get one wicket each.
For RCB, Josh Hazelwood was the only impressive bowler as he grabbed two wickets. Wanindu Hasaranga was the only other bowler to get a wicket for the Bangalore based team.
Jos Buttler was adjudged Man of the Match for his amazing batting performance. Following this win, RR have now secured a place in the IPL 2022 finals and will square off against Gujarat Titans (GT) on May 29.
Scorecard:
Royal Challengers Bangalore: 157/8, Overs 20, Rajat Patidar 58, Prasidh Krishna 3/22
Rajasthan Royals: 161/3, Overs 18.1, Jos Buttler 106*, Josh Hazelwood 2/23