Royal Challengers Bangalore grabbed the last available spot in the IPL Play-offs with a six-wicket win over Delhi Daredevils as Virat Kohli continued with his superlative batting show by hitting a responsible 54-run knock.
Earlier, Kolkata Knight Riders, riding on Yousuf Pathan’s mature half-century to defeat Sunrisers Hyderabad, and sealed their spot in the playoffs.
The playoff lineup is as follows:
- Qualifier 1: Gujarat Lions vs Royal Challengers Bangalore
- Eliminator: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad
It was the RCB bowlers that set up the easy win by restricting Daredevils to a modest 138 for eight with leg-break bowler Yuzvendra Chahal (3/32) taking three wickets and Chris Gayle (2/11) scalping two batsmen in a single over.
Quinton de Kock (60) hit a fighting half-century but other Daredevils batsmen struggled badly as the RCB bowlers straitjacketed them with a very disciplined effort, albeit, on a pitch that offered help to both pacers and spinners.
De Kock scored 60 off 52 balls with five fours and a six while Chris Morris came up with a useful unbeaten cameo of 27 runs, late in the innings.
Surprisingly, despite it being a knockout clash and a playoffs berth at stake, many Daredevils batsmen did not show much urgency to score quickly.
RCB took control of match with smart bowling and overhauled down the target with 11 balls to spare as Kohli anchored the chase with his unbeaten 54-run knock.
His well-calculated innings came off 45 balls and had six shots to the fence.
RCB lost Chris Gayle (1) and AB de Villiers (6) early in the innings but inspirational skipper Kohli ensured that his side capitalise on the good work done by the bowlers with his responsible batting.
Feature image source: IPL