Rajasthan Royals vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Eliminator - Live Cricket Score, Commentary

So the RCB juggernaut has been quashed by the collective might of Rajasthan. The Royals shook off the cobwebs of four straight defeats as the team stepped up for this eliminator. Despite all his runs and electric fielding, Virat Kohli came up against a team where each person stepped up to do a role and collectively get their team over the line. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and the sum total of Rajasthan’s youthful exuberance coupled with their experienced campaigners ensure tha they fight on at Chepauk against SRH on Friday. Join us for that one, for now this is Saurabh Shankar signing off on behalf of Ramakrishan MS, Sagar Chawla, Siva and Praveen Kumar.

R Ashwin | Player of the Match: We haven't done very well in the last few games. We didn't put par scores and we lost Buttler, and Hetmyer was injured. Today's win was important. We were a bit rusty chasing it, but this win will give us some confidence. In the first half, I felt my body wasn't moving too well for the first half of the season. I had an abdomen injury as well. I am aging as well. To come into the tournament from Test cricket was difficult, I needed some time to get that bowling rhytmn. But once you have committed to your franchise, you want to go through with the season. I think we hit the right lengths, the way Boult was bowling, he got a bit of swing and seam movement. In the second innings, I don't think there was a lot of dew. I think there were some exceptional shots from our boys to get that chase. I think our greatest strength is the exuberance of youth and the experience we have got to support that. Now that Hettie is back in, and Rovman got a few boundaries today as well. We've got Keshav sitting outside. We have the right momentum for this team going forward.

Sanju Samson: 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.

Stats by Roshan Gede

Most wins as RR captain (IPL)
31 - Shane Warne
31 - Sanju Samson
18 - Rahul Dravid
15 - Steven Smith

Most defeats in IPL playoffs
10 - RCB (16 matches)
9 - CSK (26 matches)
9 - DC (11 matches)
7 - MI (20 matches)
7 - SRH (12 matches)

Most runs for RR in an IPL season
863 - Jos Buttler (2022)
625 - Yashasvi Jaiswal (2023)
567 - Riyan Parag (2024)
560 - Ajinkya Rahane (2012)
548 - Jos Buttler (2018)

Most runs by an uncapped batter in an IPL season
625 - Yashasvi Jaiswal (RR, 2023)
616 - Shaun Marsh (PBKS, 2008)
567 - Riyan Parag (RR, 2024)
516 - Ishan Kishan (MI, 2020)
512 - Suryakumar Yadav (MI, 2018)

Most runs from No.4 or below in an IPL season
579 - Rishabh Pant (DC, 2018)
567 - Riyan Parag (RR, 2024)
538 - Rohit Sharma (MI, 2013)
513 - Glenn Maxwell (RCB, 2021)
498 - Dinesh Karthik (KKR, 2018)

Highest match aggregates without an individual 50-plus score in IPL
349 - CSK vs RCB, Chennai, 2024
346 - RR vs RCB, Ahmedabad, 2024 Eliminator
343 - GL vs RCB, Rajkot, 2017
343 - KKR vs CSK, Abu Dhabi, 2021
342 - PBKS vs RR, Mohali, 2014

Powell: It (situation) wasn't that difficult. It was situation where you had to put bat to ball, thankfully i minimized the pressure. I wanted to tell him to be positive than look for singles and unfortunately he got out. (On his batting position) If it was up to me I would take it a little bit earlier. Having said that we have quality batters and you have to accept the role and I am looking forward to contribute more in this role. sometimes you need things like these (Four catches). First catch (off Faf) was the one that let me take four catches. If I had put that down, it would be a haan, tough day in the field kind of situation. When you have good player like Faf and Virat you want those half chances to come to you. You put the body on the line. We have been playing good cricket overall this season, last few games we messed up. Guys are looking forward to playing in Chennai.

Faf du Plessis: 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.

23:25 Local Time, 17:55 GMT, 23:25 IST: It’s the hope that kills you. The murmured chants of 'Ee Sala Cup Namde' drown out into the neighboring Sabarmati river as RCB fans are forced to lick their wounds once again. Just like their season, this game saw them resurrect from the dead on mutliple occasions, but ultimately their sloopy fielding early on came to cost them. Chasing a slightly sub par total of 173, Rajasthan got a decent start with Kohler-Cadmore and Jaiswal both getting runs. Despite the Englishman's wicket, Samson and Jaiswal stitched on a partnership and at a point RR were cantering to a win. However, an inspired spell from Cam Green, coupled with a needless Samson stumping and an electric run out from Virat Kohli made the game interesting. Rajasthan needed 58 off the final six, but Riyan Parag held his own to augment what has been a breakthrough season for him. He took down Green for a six and a four, as Hetmyer played the perfect supporting role from the other end. Both batters couldn't stay the course, but the equation was down to a run a ball, before Rovman Powell added the finishing touches. Stick on for the presentations...