IPL 2022: A stunning Rajat Patidar century helped Royal Challengers to a closely fought 14-run win over debutants Lucknow Super Giants at Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
The match got underway after a rain delay and Lucknow pacer Mohsin Khan sent RCB skipper Faf Du Plesis packing for a golden duck in the first over.
Virat Kohli failed to get going getting dismissed for a 24-ball 25, while trying to upper-cut Avesh Khan. This was however meant to be ‘The Rajat Patidar Show’.
He started off with consecutive boundaries off Avesh Khan in the fifth over and then followed it up by handing Krunal Pandya a 20-run pasting in the next over. His strike-rate never dipped, despite wickets falling around him, bringing up his fifty off just 28 balls.
KL Rahul’s gamble of turning to his wrist-spinner Ravi Bishnoi in the 16th over backfired big time, with Patidar smoking 6, 4, 6, 4, 6.
Rajat Patidar scored a 54-ball 112, studded with 12 fours and seven sixes, took Bangalore over 200 with a quick fire cameo by Dinesh Karthik who scored 37 off 23 balls taking the total to 207/4 in 20 overs.
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The chase by Lucknow Super Giants was a well fought effort. Despite losing Quinton De Kock to Siraj and Manan Vohra to Jos Hazlewood, they kept the run rate going.
The score was 41/2 in 4.3 overs when Deepak Hooda joined captain KL Rahul in the middle.
Rahul was at his flamboyant best, while Hooda ensured there was no let up from the other end. But a stagnant 6 overs from 7-13 hampered their chances big time. Only 40 runs came in those 6 overs with both Rahul and Hooda struggling to get going despite being settled.
The equation came down to 99 runs in the last 7 overs, the batters finally upped a gear.
It started off with a 16-run over off Josh Hazlewood, Hasaranga got the wicket of Hooda in the 15th over but the runs kept coming with 18 coming from the same over when Stoinis came to bat.
10 off Mohammad Siraj in the 16th over, 14 off Hasaranga in the 17th, and then the first two balls off the 18th over, bowled by Harshal Patel, were two wides, one of them even going for a boundary.
With 35 needed off 18 balls Super Giants looked favourities, But Patel, in typically clinical fashion, struck back with a couple of dots, followed by the wicket of Stoinis, before Hazlewood returned in the 19th over to finally get rid of Rahul and ensure Royal Challengers are one game away from the final of IPL 2022.
