Ahmedbad, May 27 (Agency) After Prasidh Krishna and Obed McCoy tied down RCB to 157 for 8, Jos Buttler unfurled a special knock – 106* off 60 – to drive Rajasthan Royals to their first IPL final since 2008. With that, Buttler now has five IPL centuries – on par with Virat Kohli and one behind Chris Gayle. Kohli started confidently with a gorgeous flick for a six in the opening over from Trent Boult, but in just the second, Prasidh generated more bounce than he’d have anticipated and got him fishing outside off and nicking to Sanju Samson for 7 runs. Prasidh looked to make the most of the appreciable bounce on offer and even bowled three overs inside the PowerPlay, but couldn’t make any more incisions. He still conceded just 14 in those overs as Faf du Plessis and Rajat Patidar dragged RCB to 46 for 1 in 6 overs.
RCB’s Eliminator protagonist took centre stage once again as Du Plessis struggled to find a second gear. The stylish right-hander meanwhile, went after Yuzvendra Chahal in the middle-overs and once Du Plessis departed, he combined with Glenn Maxwell to up the scoring rate. They took 26 off two overs from RR’s spin duo, but a fantastic effort from McCoy at fine leg – running forward and diving to take a catch – ended Maxwell’s stay at 24 off 13. Patidar, though not half as fluent as two nights ago, got to his fifty with a six over long-off against Chahal. Patidar hit one off Ashwin in just the following over but another sharp fielding effort ended his stay. He went searching for another six and didn’t quite connect well, but it still looked to be sailing in the right direction. Buttler at long-off though, took the catch while his feet were just inches away from the boundary line. He balanced himself well, threw the ball up just to get steady a little more and sent Patidar packing for a 42-ball 58.
Yashasvi Jaiswal showed he meant business in the very first over, when he sent a length ball from Mohammed Siraj’s over sailing over fine leg. That six was the 30th that the RCB pacer conceded this season – the most sixes given away in a single edition by a bowler. Siraj had more misery coming his way as he conceded 16 in his first over and 15 in his next. The second came courtesy Buttler’s flying start. By the end of the 3rd over, the RR opener had 20 runs to his name – taking his season tally to 738 – the third most runs in a single season by a batter after Virat Kohli and David Warner – 973 and 848 respectively in IPL 2016. Du Plessis introduced his left-arm spinner Shahbaz Ahmed early, only to be tonked away by Buttler as shoulders began to drop on the field. In 5 overs, RR flew to 61 for 0. Josh Hazlewood dismissed Jaiswal in the final over of the PowerPlay, but RR’s gallop was unwavering even in the middle-overs. Du Plessis hoped for different results with Shahbaz in the middle-overs, but in vain. Both Samson and Buttler collected fours and a six as the spinner conceded 35 in his 2 overs. At the halfway stage, RR had 103 for 1, cruising away towards their total.
Du Plessis brought back Harshal Patel for the 11th over and on the first ball, he got Buttler to nick one behind. But Dinesh Karthik dropped a sitter. Samson then piled on the misery with a big six and brought up his 50-run stand. Hasaranga got rid of Samson but it came a touch too late for RCB. The asking rate was already down to just over six and Buttler dwarfed it further in the 16th over, hitting two sixes of Hasaranga to bring up his fourth century of IPL 2022 – the joint-most by a batter in a single season. Fittingly, it was Buttler who capped off the chase on the first ball of the 19th over, biffing Harshal Patel for a six. He finished with an incredible innings, studded with 10 fours and six sixes. Brief scores: Royal Challengers Bangalore 157/8; Rajasthan Royals 161/3 (18.1 overs)