New Delhi, With the help of Rajat Patidar’s explosive century, Royal Challengers Bangalore have kept alive their hopes of reaching the final of the 16th season of the IPL T20 cricket tournament.
In the IPL-2020 eliminator match played at the Eden Gardens ground in Kolkata on Wednesday, Bangalore beat the Lucknow Super Giants by 17 runs. This marked the end of Lucknow’s illustrious journey playing in the IPL for the first time.
While Royal Challengers Bangalore will now face Rajasthan Royals in the second qualifier to reach the final. The second qualifier will be played on Friday, May 9 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The winning team of this match will face Gujarat Titans in the final.
The Lucknow Super Giants were playing in the IPL for the first time. Led by Lokesh Rahul, the team performed brilliantly throughout the tournament. In the eliminator, Lucknow won the toss and elected to bat first.
Bangalore were bowled out for 204 for four in the allotted 20 overs with the help of Rajat Patidar’s explosive 114-run innings. In reply, Lucknow managed to score 16 runs for the loss of six wickets in 20 overs. For Lucknow, skipper Lokesh Rahul was the top scorer with 4 runs. The batting of the Lucknow team, which came on the field to reach the tough target of 206 runs, was disappointing.
The team suffered a major blow when opener Quinton Decock was dismissed in the first over. He scored six runs. Then Manan Vora was also dismissed for 18 runs. Skipper Lokesh Rahul and Deepak Hooda shared a 3-run partnership.
Hooda immediately batted and hit 4 off 9 balls with the help of a four and four sixes. While Lokesh Rahul was out for 3 runs in 4 balls. Which included three fours and five sixes.
For Bangalore, Jess Hazlewood was the fastest with three wickets. While Mohammad Siraj, Vanindu Hasaranga and Hershal Patel had one success each. In Super Eliminator, Lucknow Super Giants won the toss and elected to bat first. SS1MS