Royal Challengers Bangalore set up a clash with Chennai Super Kings for a place in the final as they sent Rajasthan Royals out of the tournament with a commanding performance
Scorer: Chandan Duorah | Commentator: Deivarayan Muthu
Thanks for tuning in tonight. Do come back and join us for Qualifier 2 on Friday. Until then, good night and cheers.
AB de Villiers, Man of the Match: I haven't performed that well in the last couple of innings. I have no idea how we got to 180. We were looking at 140. The way Mandeep played was a Man-of-the-match performance. The trophy will go to him after the presentation. CSK have won many tournaments and we know what we are up against.
Virat Kohli: No quarter-finals left. It will be a semi-final from now. After seven overs, I honestly thought we should have bowled first. We all know AB is the best batsman in the world. Commendable effort from Mandeep and showed why we literally pulled him out of Kings XI. He [Starc] is a professional and knows how to manage his workload. Even I am a bit stiff in the legs. The 150[kph] kind of effort was not needed, he is fit and good. He was just going through the motions. We have played better cricket than previous seasons. 2013 we did not qualify and that hurt. I am really really happy as a skipper. Eventually it comes down to two games and the boys are really looking forward to the final.
Steven Smith: I think a fair bit went wrong for us today. We started well, but it got away in the middle and end. I though him [AB de Villiers] and Mandeep played nicely. I thought 160 was par and they got a fair bit over that. I think we did not have enough momentum going into the back end of the tournament.
11:30pm Kohli hugs AB. The players exchange pleasantries. After putting up a formidable total on the board, RCB chipped away at the wickets, skittling RR for 109 in 19 overs. Rahane offered some source of resistance with 42 off 39 balls but it was only a matter of time before Royal Challengers completed the formalities. The regular fall of wickets and scoreboard pressure hurt Royals' chase. They din't come to terms with the pitch either..
Naveen: "Don't forget the efforts of Harshal patel he's a real unsung hero for rcb "
Afzal: "ABD, the most humble cricketer... First he said about Miller in the world cup and now Mandeep..."
Ravi: "The 3 teams which are still standing have these things in common: "Indian player as captain" "Atleast one West Indian, who is contributing massively""
Ahsan Butt: "David Wiese - an unsung hero of RCB this season.
DS Kulkarni b Chahal 3 (9m 9b 0x4 0x6) SR: 33.33
Chahal..
RCB batsman Mandeep Singh credited his improved performance in recent matches to AB de Villiers' help with technical aspects of batting
Plays of the day from the IPL Eliminator between Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore in Pune
Royal Challengers Bangalore set up a clash with Chennai Super Kings for a place in the final as they sent Rajasthan Royals out of the tournament with a commanding performance
Royal Challengers Bangalore had two of their three big guns out cheaply but Mandeep Singh took charge of the innings to set up AB de Villiers late surge, part of five key moments from Wednesday's IPL Eliminator in Pune
