RR vs RCB Highlights, IPL 2024 Eliminator: Rovman Powell thumps a six to knock RCB out of the tournament, RR to face SRH in Qualifier 2

Sanju Samson, RR captain: What cricket and life has taught us is we will have some good and some really bad phases. But we need to have the character to bounce back. Really happy with the way we fielded, batted and bowled today. Credit to the bowlers, they are always looking at what the opposition batters would do and what fields to set. Credit goes to Sanga and bowling coach Shane Bond as well. They've spent a lot of time in hotel rooms discussing these things. Plus Ashwin and Boult are experienced lads. (On Parag and Jaiswal) They are 22 each, so is Jurel. With very little experience, the way they are performing at this level is amazing. (On his health) I'm not a 100% actually. There is a bug in the dressing room, lots of coughs and a lot of people are a bit unwell. (Going forward) Rovman finished that off well. I think we have a travel day and rest now, looking forward to the next game.

Faf du Plessis, RCB skipper: With the dew coming, we felt we were short with the bat. Did think we were 20 runs shy of what was a good score. Credit to the boys - they fought really well. That's all you can ask for. If you look at naturally assessing the pitch and conditions, you would say it's a 180 pitch because it was swinging upfront and was quite slow. But what we've found out this season, with the impact player, the par score isn't enough any more. Also with the dew coming in. Extremely proud. Lot of teams - their wheels would've fallen off after 1 from 9. To come back like that, six games in a row, takes a lot of heart and character. We weren't special tonight in terms of pushing that extra 20 runs with the bat.

Rovman Powell and Ravichandran Ashwin are the two new batters in. Lockie Ferguson the man with the ball. Pace on, wide outside the off stump and the Powell directs it down backward point for four. The West Indies skipper edges the next one and it runs past the same region for four more!

Two dot balls follow. Oh dear, this is not for the faint hearted. Another dot ball. Is there another plot twist? NO! A fullish delivery from the Kiwi to close the over and it's all Rajasthan needed. A flat six and RR have won it by four wickets!

Did we speak too soon? 

Riyan Parag, in search of a glory hit, has missed a fuller delivery and made a mess of his stumps. The middle stump is uprooted and up jumps Mohammed Siraj for his CR7 celebration. Is this the twist in the tale that RCB needed? Six runs have come off the first five deliveries. 

Off the last ball, Hetmyer skies it. It's gone miles in the air and the RCB skipper holds onto it. Wow, what a change of mood around the venue. 13 needed off the last two overs. 

Yash Dayal to bowl his third over. Hetmyer doesn't want to leave this for too late. An attempted yorker, a full toss, drilled down the ground for four. It's followed by a good length delivery, wide outside off stump, and Hetmyer slashes it down backward point for four more. 11 runs come from the over. 150 up for Rajasthan. Surely, surely they have this in the bag. 19 needed off the last three overs.

Cameron Green barely put a foot wrong in the first three overs of his spell tonight. Just the 11 runs given and the all important wicket of Yashasvi Jaiswal. But in his fourth and final over, the Australian has let his teammates down, as visible by a frustrated Virat Kohli - raising both his hands in disbelief - in the deep. 

Starts off with a short ball to Hetmyer, who pulled it clean over wide long on for SIX! Then, one in the slot to Riyan Parag, who carves it over extra cover for SIX! One of the stars for RR this season had looked nervous while collecting an obvious double in the last over but there are no nerves here. A short ball is dabbed down third man for four. 17 runs come from the over. RR are on the march. 143/4 after 16 overs.

Mohammed Siraj to bowl his third over. Riyan Parag has to be the man for Rajasthan from here. In his best IPL season, Parag has emerged as a dependable hand in the top order, a role the management thrusted upon after numerous dry runs as a designated finisher. Tonight though, Parag will have to find a middle ground as he tries to close this chase. 

Meanwhile, on field though, a horrid moment almost brought his stay to an end. Parag stabbed one down mid-wicket. Hetmyer wanted two straightaway but Parag was hesitant and makes a late run back at the striker's end but only survives owing to a hurried and inaccurate throw from Faf du Plessis. Sunil Gavaskar on the comms is furious at the 24-year-old. "What is happening, Riyan Parag. There was definitely two here." The nerves are showing up. Hetmyer top-edges a short one that runs down the fine leg fence for four. That would surely calm 'em down a bit. A single off the last ball. 47 needed off the last five overs.

We've seen this one play out before. Virat Kohli has had a different aura about him in the second half of the season. Not just with the bat, but also in the deep. That Sam Curran run out in Dharamsala was played over and over again on social media and in highlight packages. 

Here's another likely contender to do the rounds. Kohli, standing at deep square, sprints to his left - deep mid wicket - to cut the ball and deliver a fiery throw at the non-striker's end. RR wanted a couple there but so good is the throw from Kohli that Jurel falls short, even on this ground. The Ahmedabad crowd has come alive, so have RCB. Another good over from Green, only four runs off it. 58 needed off the final six overs, six wickets in hand.

Lockie Ferguson to speed things up for RCB? For a fiery quick pacer that he is, Feguson found success with the pace off deliveries against CSK in RCB's virtual knockout match. Parag and Jurel would be wary of that here. Parag was, as he picked a back of a length slower one and pulled it in front of square for SIX! That was much needed for RR but RCB would still favor themselves at this juncture. 111/3 after 13 overs.

Cameron Green continues from the other end. A spectacular second over from him to put the pressure right back on Rajasthan. Just the couple of runs from it. 100 up for RR, but they need one good over from here to open up the game for themselves. For now, the equation reads 73 needed from 42 balls.

Oh dear! Throwback to the Sanju Samson of the old. Hurried, agitated to get the big shots, and eventually, beaten all too easily for all that calibre. On this occasion, the RR captain decided to take a risk by dancing down the track way too early against Karn Sharma. The leggie would've seen that coming all day every day. He floats it further away from Samson, spins it even farther away. A wide it is, but Dinesh Karthik has done the needful behind the stumps and RCB won't mind the extra run. This is a big wicket. 

RR though, find a couple of boundaries to counter the gloom that followed after that first delivery. Dhruv Jurel slaps his first delivery through mid-wicket region for four. Riyan Parag executes a cheeky cut shot to get another boundary. 98/3 after 11 overs. 75 needed from 54 deliveries.

"He's exhausted," noted Ravi Shastri as the third umpire confirmed Yashasvi Jaiswal's departure for tonight. Having started off on a strong note in the powerplay, on what has been a hot evening in Ahmedabad, the southpaw went for a loose paddle shot outside the off stump. And in his attempt to do so, found an edge that was collected by the keeper behind. A second wicket for RCB. At the halfway stage, RR are 85/2.

88 needed off the last 10 overs.

Karn Sharma into the attack. A fine over from the leggie but a missed opportunity to snap a second wicket. Sanju Samson wanted a double as he nudged the ball down sweeper cover. Jaiswal denied the skipper, who took his time before tapping the bat in the crease by the bowler's end. The ball was in Sharma's hand before Samson made his way in. A run out was on the cards. Will it come back to haunt the Royals? 80/1 after nine overs.

Ferguson to continue from the other end, on the back of that wicket in his first. He forces an outside edge from the other RR opener, but it flies to the left of Dinesh Karthik on its way down third man fence for four. A run out check later in the off an attempted two but Jaiswal has tracked back into the crease in time. 10 runs from the over. 74/1 after eight.

Captain Sanju Samson has walked in, and announced his arrival in some style. Swapnil Singh goes short, and Samson needs no invitation. Opens his stance and pulls one in front of square, over the fence for SIX! It's this aggressive version of his that RR need to pick themselves up after the dismal finish to their league stage campaign.

Sure to assist the captain is Jaiswal at his signature best. Uses the width on offer from the left-arm spinner to drive and cut consecutive fours, which takes him to 34. RR, 64/1 after seven overs.

A sigh of relief on Glenn Maxwell's face and a round of applause for his teammate. 

Lockie Ferguson nails a yorker early in the game - they may need quite a few of those from him tonight - and it pays off. A clean up act and Kohler-Cadmore has to walk back. RCB have their first wicket and a way back into this contest. End of the powerplay, Rajasthan are 47/1.

It was only a few days ago that one of Gujarat's cricket sons, Parthiv Patel took to his X account to make the claim: Glenn Maxwell is the most overrated player in IPL. It was met with the faceless mob crowding his feed with vile abuses - as is so often the case when a claim as big against a player as big in stature is made in the IPL. But going by the Australian's outings this year, one wouldn't be wrong in atleast giving Patel the benefit of doubt. 

In 10 matches this season, Maxwell has scored 52 runs. The player with the monicker big-show has been a no-show, even during RCB's resurgence to the playoffs. Earlier tonight, he was removed off the very first delivery, off a shot that bamboozled many. So when Kohler-Cadmore heaved one in the general direction of Maxwell, the RCB fans would've hoped of a redemption for one of their top players. It wasn't. A dropped catch and to make the matters worse, the Aussie collects a couple more boundaries in the same over. The camera cruelly cuts to Maxwell, who covers his mouth to cuss himself. In Ahmedabad, of all places. RR, 45/0 after five overs.

Such a deceiving sport T20 is. How many who watched Jaiswal and Kohler-Cadmore fail to middle the ball in the first two overs would've bet that the next two overs would see them pick seven boundaries?

The Aussie takes the attack to Mohammed Siraj in his second over. A fierce whip through mid-wicket and a slice shot through covers for consecutive fours. Jaiswal with his fifth four of the innings: pulls one down deep square leg for four. Rajasthan looking in firm control, as they did in the first half of the season. But then again, just as their fate in the latter half of the league stage reaffirms, T20 is a deceiving sport. Perhaps a wicket incoming for RCB soon? RR are 35/0 after four overs.

DROPPED!

Yash Dayal replaces Swapnil Singh from the other end. Good length delivery, seams away from Jaiswal, who slashes at it and finds an outside edge. The first slip gets his hand at it but it doesn't stick and runs down short third for FOUR. First boundary of the night for RR.

Next stroke is far more confident. Short and outside off, and Jaiswal just steers it down backward point for four. This is much more like it from the elegant southpaw. Ends the over with consecutive boundaries - leaning into a cover drive followed by a tap down short third that beats the first slip - Cameron Green again - and brings him another boundary. Four fours from the over. 22/0 after three overs.

Mohammed Siraj steams in from the other end. Kohler-Cadmore swings his hands at a fullish-outside off delivery, and is unable to middle it - goes one bounce down to the third man for a single. Later in the over, Siraj angles the scramble seam away from the left-hander and Jaiswal finds a thick edge that is stopped by the boundary by Yash Dayal.

Rajasthan still in search of their first boundary, not to say that they haven't had a go at it, as aforementioned, visibly rushing into them. 6/0 after two.

Swapnil Singh has the new ball in his hand. Yashasvi Jaiswal will take the strike. An outside edge down the short third man for the first run. But before that, RCB's feel good protagonist from this season shows there's a fiery side to his game. A run-out warning at the non-striker's end from the bowler. We know of atleast one RR player who'd approve of this, under different circumstances, of course.

Tom Kohler-Cadmore is also off the mark with a single. A tight first over from RCB. 2/0 after the first one.

741 runs. No one has more than Virat Kohli this season. Having left the captaincy in 2021, he has led this batting unit from the front this season and with his gusto in the field. Even Faf du Plessis, hands around the former RCB skipper, knows: there cannot be a more qualified pep talk guy for this big occasion. RCB have fought their way to 172, but will it be enough? Just last night, KKR made a mockery of a total in the vicinity. Can RR do the same? Or will Kohli's words continue the comeback streak from IPL's perennial upsetters?

Ravichandran Ashwin: It's been a tournament of two halves for me. First half into the tournament I was struggling coming from the Test series with injuries. Last few games I feel I am bowling really well. I texted Virat saying come on let's fight it one more time (smiles). Dew has come on nicely. The IPL committee has done well overall in the tournament to manage the dew. (On RR's recent poor batting efforts) Got to reset button. Also got to look at the pitches we played on in those games. Not hiding behind the fact that we didn't bat well in the last few games but it's just about hitting the reset button, go out and enjoy in the middle. (On the total) I think it's par-minus.

It has been a mixed bag for RCB they would have loved to have 20-25 more than what they eventually got. The odd ball is gripping and there is also dew on the outfield and will be interesting to see how the pitch behaves in the second half. But given the firepower in the RR line up and conditions in hand things are looking tricky for RCB.

Excellent 19th over from Avesh he picked up a couple of wickets. First, it was Karthik who got undone by the off-cutter and then it was Lamror who was looking in excellent touch departed. Unless there is no dew in the second innings this is a subpar total from RCB.

Vinayakk: It is not quite as difficult to solve as the chicken-or-egg paradox, but the problem facing the TV Umpire Anil Chaudhary was to decide whether the ball hit the pad directly or the bat hit the pad. For starters, after being given out first-ball, Dinesh Karthik himself didn't seem sure whether he should review or not. He had a wry smile on his face, took some time and decided to take it anyway, presumably because the match situation was dire for RCB. But fine, that's no reason for an umpire to make a call. But after seeing the splitscreen and then the UltraEdge spikes, Chaudhary decided it was an edge off the bat. Incredibly, almost everyone else on the field was perplexed. The spike came before the ball hit the pad, while the bat was jamming onto the inside area of the pad. Bowler Avesh Khan seemed stunned, Kumar Sangakkara was perplexed off the field. The commentators were flabbergasted with Ravi Shastri later calling it a shocker. The one man that mattered though called it not out.

Rajasthan needs to put it behind them and get back to the game. Yes, things have gone against them but they cannot lose the plot here. RCB still are nowhere near the par score but these sorts of decisions do tend to suck the morale out of the teams.

Vinayakk: One of the main reasons for the fantastic season that Virat Kohli has had is his slog sweep against spin. He had said after the match against Punjab Kings, "I brought out the slog-sweep against the spinners. I know I can hit it as I have done in the past. I am always looking to expose that side of the field against spin." He said it was about convincing himself that he need to take those risks. So, after a 6-run over from Ashwin, Kohli decided RCB needed to get a move on. In front of him was a familiar foe in Yuzvendra Chahal. He landed a full ball in Kohli's arc but where he was expecting a little bit of turn, the ball went straight on. Where the turn would have seen him connect with the sweet spot, this went off the toe-end. It still travelled the distance but the height wasn't there and the fielder at deep midwicket did the rest. Delight for former RCB man Chahal, disappointment for RCB's superstar on a big night as the right intent didn't meet with right execution.

Well Patidar has departed in that over, however, the highlight for good or bad reasons depends on the team you support came when Avesh Khan's delivery hit the pad of Karthik but the third umpire read it as inside edge after the decision was given out and was overturned after Karthik reviewd. Poor decision from the umpire.

Sandip G: It’s the side-on camera that captures the dynamic beauty or Rovman Powell’s lunge to grab Faf du Plessis. There was little hesitation, whether to leap, miss the ball and risk a four, or choose the safer option of blocking the ball and preventing a four. He dialed the former option and went for the first option, as though it was his only one. The smartness was in the timing. He chose the perfect moment to dive, as though he knew the geometry of it, the amount of ground he had to cover, where his palms should be, the distance he had to jump and the hang-time. The legs were fully stretched, every muscle in happy synchronization, the hands flew out in one fluid motion, the palms, like the Venus flytrap, letting its prey come onto it, and swallowing it at the perfect moment. The landing was incredibly smooth for a big-framed cricketer, on his knees first rather than the elbow, reducing the risk of the ball bobbling out of his hands. And he threw the ball back to the umpire with throwback Caribbean nonchalance. As though it was just a mundane piece of work.

Green and Maxwell fell in the same over against Ashwin. First, it was Green who tried to heave the ball on the leg-side and got the outside edge which Powell took and then it was Maxwell who played a shot of the first ball which only he can explain. 

Disastrous over from RCB's perspective as they lost two wickets in an over. Firs it was Green who tried to whack Ashwin on the off-side but could not get the timing right and Powell took a simple catch then it was Glenn Maxwell who came in and played a shot which only he could explain and was caught at long-on.

On to the 12th over and Avesh has been brought back into the other. 3 runs from the first 2 overs as the RCB batters rotate strike. Good length ball next but Patidar digs it out and places it for a 4!! Full toss ball next, was an intended yorker which Green dispatches straight to the long on boundary!! 14 from this over

Ashwin bowling that over created an opportunity however, Jurel running from long on spilled the catch. Patidar gets an opportunity. The wicket would have put RCB further under pressure however, did not happen. RCB will be hoping Patidar makes the most of the chanse.

That is a productive over for RCB against Chahal. He gave 13 runs away. Patidar has walked into the middle and this is the game where the momentum might shift in either direction as Patidar tends to smack the spinners all over the park. 

Virat Kohli tries to put pressure on Chahal hitting him through the cow corner and once again gets perishes. RR is going through a good phase here. The ball seems to be gripping a bit at the moment. 

Samson has turned to Ashwin and he did start well. However, Chahal has not been in the best of forms in recent times, and will be interesting to see how he bowls on this surface. RCB instead of sending in Maxwell has sent in Green who has batted in lower order earlier in tournament.

Sandeep Sharma comes back into the attack and he delivers another expensive over for RR. RR does not have the option of extra pace today and Ahmedabad hardly turns or assists slower ones, especially for the wickets provided in IPL.

Samson takes the gamble by giving Boult his third over and Du Plessis tries to clear the mid-wicket boundary gets the under edge and Rovman Powell fielding near the boundary runs forward to take a stunning catch to give RR their first breakthrough.

Sandip G: In his first over, Trent Boult displayed his absolute mastery with the white new ball. The first ball was back of length, staying a bit  on the leg-side, the next was a centimetre or two further up, which Faf du Plessis comfortably defended. The third landed more or less on the same length, a bit wide off the off-stump and swung back sharply. The fourth was the beast, which veered devilishly into Du Plessis, who lost his balance in the process of digging the boot-crusher, and fell on the crease. The ball  began in the line of the middle stump and by the time it graced some part of his bat, it was just outside the leg-stump. Boult broke into that waspish smile of his. The eyes of Du Plessis told the story, white and big, as though he had spotted the devil. He somehow gathered the presence of mind to get off the strike, out of necessity rather than need perhaps.

After an expensive over from Sandeep Trent Boult followed up with an excellent one giving just three runs away in it. It will be interesting to see if Samson turns to Chahal in the powerplay with two right-handers in the middle. 

Sandeep Sharma takes the second over and Kohli charges down the wicket again however, to restrict that Sanju Samson came up to the stumps to restrict the moment. However, Faf stood there and whacked him for a six. This looks like a belter of a wicket at the moment.

Trent Boult takes the new ball and it has not been as dramatic a start as yesterday. The ball was not moving either in the first over. Kohli charged down once and tried to work the ball on off-side but missed. The first over has indicated there is no seam moment.

The ground is full and the stage is set. The two umpires are walking into the middle and we have a cracker of the game tonight. Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis will walk in with the bat and Trent Boult will take the new ball against them what contest we have first up. 

We have to sit back and accept that we are going through failures, have lost four games on the trot. Got to find out what's not working out for us as a team. Somebody needs to step up, we have so many match-winners in the team. This is the time we need to show character. We need to score more runs

Swapnil Singh, Anuj Rawat, Suyash Prabhudessai, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Himanshu Sharma

Shubham Dubey, Donovan Ferreira, Nandre Burger, Shimron Hetmyer, Tanush Kotian

Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis(c), Rajat Patidar, Cameron Green, Glenn Maxwell, Dinesh Karthik(w), Mahipal Lomror, Karn Sharma, Yash Dayal, Mohammed Siraj, Lockie Ferguson

Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Sanju Samson(w/c), Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Rovman Powell, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Avesh Khan, Sandeep Sharma, Yuzvendra Chahal

Would've done the same. Watching the game last night, there was assistance for the seam bowlers early on. This looks on the drier side with some fake grass on top. We've had that mindset right through. Focussing on your own skills, being true to the way you want to play. Last game against CSK was an unbelievable one. Less is more. People think when you get to the knockout stages, you need to be Superman. It's just showing the boys that you trust them. Same team.

Would like to bowl first looking at the conditions and the wicket. There was dew last night. It's all about the mindset. Really excited to come and play in this fabulous stadium. Great energy here. Looking at what has cricket taught us. When you have bad days, need to have the character and confidence. That has been the challenging part - fitness and injuries. Hetty comes back.

I brought out the slog-sweep to the spinners. I just mentally put myself in that situation, never practiced it at all. I know I can hit it (slog-sweep) because I have hit it in the past. I need to take a bit more risks. That's allowing me to hit that shot off the back foot as well. I have tried to expose that side of the field as well, which for me has been a massive factor in this IPL

Hayden has backed the all-time highest run getter in the league to break his own record of most runs in a single season.

“He could go well past his IPL 2016 performance in the kind of form that he’s in. So more than anything, I just think it’s the energy and the love of the game, the passion, the commitment for it all—all of those describing words that you can glorify this great man with, whether it be on the field or with bat in hand. He just loves it; it’s crazy,” Hayden said on Star Sports.

Different pitch to the Qualifier. 61 meters on one side, 68 on the other, and 73 down the ground. Very similar to the pitch yesterday. It's quite dry, extremely firm, maybe has a bit more grass cover. Last night was in contrast to what the groundsmen had informed us that there wasn't going to be dew. In my opinion it dramatically affected the game last night. It's currently 43 degrees. The water in this wicket is something the groundsmen have had to control because of the heat. Last night remember, early up, there was a little bit of seam movement and little bit of swing. Otherwise, this wicket was high scoring in the group stage.

Earlier, he would also go into details about the RCB team, saying, “I think they won in 8, didn’t they, RCB at the start? It was all over the place. They found Virat at the top. He’s played great. He very rarely has a bad night out with the bat. So he’ll be consistent at t5he top. Patidar has been a revelation. Just going out swinging, he’s played great. Not a bad replacement for Will Jacks. Glenn Maxwell, he dod well in the last game. Yash Dayal, left armer, he seems to be swinging around. Held his nerve.”

Vaughan even took a dig at that saying in the latest episode of Club Prairie Fire,” Actually the washed out game was a good result for them cause they didn’t lose.”

He would, however, point out that RR had a better bowling attack than RCB but pointed out the latter’s batting strength. “I would say they probably have the better bowling attack, Rajasthan than RCB. RCB’s bowling as much as they have bowled ok in the last few games, as a collective they have played nicely, I still think Rajasthan bowling attack on paper looks a bit better but the RCB batting lineup.. Maxwell in games like this is so dangerous. So yeah, I am going for RCB,” he said

We have to sit back and accept that we are going through failures, have lost four games on the trot. Got to find out what's not working out for us as a team. Somebody needs to step up, we have so many match-winners in the team. This is the time we need to show character. We need to score more runs

I brought out the slog-sweep to the spinners. I just mentally put myself in that situation, never practiced it at all. I know I can hit it (slog-sweep) because I have hit it in the past. I need to take a bit more risks. That's allowing me to hit that shot off the back foot as well. I have tried to expose that side of the field as well, which for me has been a massive factor in this IPL

The RR vs RCB Eliminator IPL match will be streamed on the JioCinema App and telecast on the Star Sports Network on May 22, Wednesday from 7:30 PM IST.