<div>The sensational AB de Villiers and his young understudy Mandeep Singh orchestrated a masterful duet as the Royal Challengers Bangalore slayed the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL Eliminator clash here on Wednesday.<br /><br />Joining forces with the Royal Challengers in trouble at 46/2 with both Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli back in the dug-out, de Villiers (66, 38 balls) and Mandeep (54 not out, 34b) weathered some early storm themselves before stitching together a 113-run partnership (67 balls) to set them on course for a very competitive 180/4 at the MCA Stadium.<br /><br />The RCB bowlers then came to the party in stunning fashion, bowling out the Royals for 109 in 19 overs as the victors maintained their unbeaten streak over their opponents this edition and set-up a Qualifier 2 clash against two-time champions Chennai Super Kings in Ranchi on Friday. The winner of Friday’s clash will take on Mumbai Indians in the final at the Eden Gardens on Sunday.<br /><br />Having posted three 200-plus the last three times they’ve batted first, skipper Kohli had no hesitation in putting a total on board after he’d called the coin right. Gayle began to open his big shoulders as early as in the third over by carting Dhawal Kulkarni for 14 runs as RCB laid down the marker in the first knock-out clash of this season’s IPL.<br /><br />At the other end Kohli, who didn’t get much of the strike, stayed quiet and allowed Gayle to be enforcer as usual. Things, however, took a drastic turn for the Royal Challengers when Kulkarni accounted for Gayle in the sixth over after the Jamaican missed the ball completely while coming down the track and saw his middle stump uprooted.Kohli then departed to the same bowler in the eighth over, giving a catch back to the bowler as RCB appeared in a spot of bother at 46/2.<br /><br />Rajasthan then splendidly applied the brakes on the Royal Challengers, bowling one tight over after another as new batsmen de Villiers and Mandeep struggled to get going. At one stage, Rajasthan just conceded nine runs in four overs, drying up the boundaries and applying tremendous pressure on the duo.<br /><br />Mandeep then broke the shackles in the 10th over bowled by Kulkarni, smoking him for a four off the fifth ball before smacking him for a maximum off the next to provide the much-needed impetus for the Royal Challengers.<br /><br />Thereafter, de Villiers and Mandeep just kept clicking gears up, carting the Rajasthan bowlers all over the park to take the game completely away from them. De Villiers was especially brilliant, playing some superb shots, while Mandeep, a self-confessed admirer of the South African, too produced a knock of fine quality.<br /><br />Rajasthan’s chase then got off to the worst possible start when the impressive S Arvind had the dangerous Shane Watson caught behind in the second over before Harshal Patel sent back Sanju Samson, also caught behind, with a peach of a delivery in the fifth over.<br /><br />Skipper Steven Smith failed too, falling to David Wiese for 12 in trying to go for a big shot as the Royal Challengers just kept chipping away with the wickets. Barring Ajinkya Rahane (42) none of the Rajasthan batsmen threatened and the Royal Challengers galloped to a crushing 71-run victory.<br /><br />score board<br /><br />ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE: Chris Gayle b Kulkarni 27 (26b, 4x4, 1x6), Virat Kohli c&b Kulkarni 12 (18b), AB de Villiers (run out) 66 (38b, 4x4, 4x6), Mandeep Singh (not out) 54 (34b, 7x4, 2x6), Dinesh Karthik c Rahane b Morris 8 (3b, 1x6), Sarfraz Khan (not out) 1 (1b). Extras (B-4, LB-3, W-5) 12. Total (for 4 wkts, 20 overs) 180.<br /><br />Fall of wickets: 1-41 (Gayle), 2-46 (Kohli), 3-159 (De Villiers), 4-177 (Karthik).<br />Bowling: Chris Morris 4-0-42-1 (W-1), James Faulkner 4-0-42-0, Dhawal Kulkarni 4-0-28-2, Shane Watson 4-0-32-0 (W-4), Ankit Sharma 3-0-28-0, Stuart Binny 1-0-1-0.<br /><br />RAJASTHAN ROYALS: Ajinkya Rahane c De Villiers b Chahal 42 (39b, 4x4 , Shane Watson c Karthik b Arvind 10 (5b, 2x4), Sanju Samson c Karthik b Harshal 5 (8b) Steven Smith c De Villiers b Wiese 12 (13b, 1x4), Karun Nair c Karthik b Harshal 12 (13b, 2x4), Deepak Hooda c Starc b Wiese 11 (14b), James Faulkner c&b Arvind 4 (4b, 1x4), Stuart Binny (run out) 0 (1b), Chris Morris c Chahal b Starc 0 (3b), Ankit Sharma (not out) 7 (5b, 1x4), Dhawal Kulkarni b Chahal 3 (9b). Extras (W-3) 3. Total (all out, 19 overs) 109.<br /><br />Fall of wickets: 1-14 (Watson), 2-33 (Samson), 3-55 (Steve Smith), 4-79 (Nair), 5-87 (Rahane), 6-92 (Faulkner), 7-92 (Binny), 8-95 (Morris), 9-99 (Hooda).<br />Bowling: Mitchell Starc 4-0-22-1 (W-1), S Arvind 4-0-20-2 (W-1), Harshal Patel 3-0-15-2, David Wiese 4-0-32-2, Yuzvendra Chahal 4-0-20-2.<br /><br /></div>
<div>The sensational AB de Villiers and his young understudy Mandeep Singh orchestrated a masterful duet as the Royal Challengers Bangalore slayed the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL Eliminator clash here on Wednesday.<br /><br />Joining forces with the Royal Challengers in trouble at 46/2 with both Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli back in the dug-out, de Villiers (66, 38 balls) and Mandeep (54 not out, 34b) weathered some early storm themselves before stitching together a 113-run partnership (67 balls) to set them on course for a very competitive 180/4 at the MCA Stadium.<br /><br />The RCB bowlers then came to the party in stunning fashion, bowling out the Royals for 109 in 19 overs as the victors maintained their unbeaten streak over their opponents this edition and set-up a Qualifier 2 clash against two-time champions Chennai Super Kings in Ranchi on Friday. The winner of Friday’s clash will take on Mumbai Indians in the final at the Eden Gardens on Sunday.<br /><br />Having posted three 200-plus the last three times they’ve batted first, skipper Kohli had no hesitation in putting a total on board after he’d called the coin right. Gayle began to open his big shoulders as early as in the third over by carting Dhawal Kulkarni for 14 runs as RCB laid down the marker in the first knock-out clash of this season’s IPL.<br /><br />At the other end Kohli, who didn’t get much of the strike, stayed quiet and allowed Gayle to be enforcer as usual. Things, however, took a drastic turn for the Royal Challengers when Kulkarni accounted for Gayle in the sixth over after the Jamaican missed the ball completely while coming down the track and saw his middle stump uprooted.Kohli then departed to the same bowler in the eighth over, giving a catch back to the bowler as RCB appeared in a spot of bother at 46/2.<br /><br />Rajasthan then splendidly applied the brakes on the Royal Challengers, bowling one tight over after another as new batsmen de Villiers and Mandeep struggled to get going. At one stage, Rajasthan just conceded nine runs in four overs, drying up the boundaries and applying tremendous pressure on the duo.<br /><br />Mandeep then broke the shackles in the 10th over bowled by Kulkarni, smoking him for a four off the fifth ball before smacking him for a maximum off the next to provide the much-needed impetus for the Royal Challengers.<br /><br />Thereafter, de Villiers and Mandeep just kept clicking gears up, carting the Rajasthan bowlers all over the park to take the game completely away from them. De Villiers was especially brilliant, playing some superb shots, while Mandeep, a self-confessed admirer of the South African, too produced a knock of fine quality.<br /><br />Rajasthan’s chase then got off to the worst possible start when the impressive S Arvind had the dangerous Shane Watson caught behind in the second over before Harshal Patel sent back Sanju Samson, also caught behind, with a peach of a delivery in the fifth over.<br /><br />Skipper Steven Smith failed too, falling to David Wiese for 12 in trying to go for a big shot as the Royal Challengers just kept chipping away with the wickets. Barring Ajinkya Rahane (42) none of the Rajasthan batsmen threatened and the Royal Challengers galloped to a crushing 71-run victory.<br /><br />score board<br /><br />ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE: Chris Gayle b Kulkarni 27 (26b, 4x4, 1x6), Virat Kohli c&b Kulkarni 12 (18b), AB de Villiers (run out) 66 (38b, 4x4, 4x6), Mandeep Singh (not out) 54 (34b, 7x4, 2x6), Dinesh Karthik c Rahane b Morris 8 (3b, 1x6), Sarfraz Khan (not out) 1 (1b). Extras (B-4, LB-3, W-5) 12. Total (for 4 wkts, 20 overs) 180.<br /><br />Fall of wickets: 1-41 (Gayle), 2-46 (Kohli), 3-159 (De Villiers), 4-177 (Karthik).<br />Bowling: Chris Morris 4-0-42-1 (W-1), James Faulkner 4-0-42-0, Dhawal Kulkarni 4-0-28-2, Shane Watson 4-0-32-0 (W-4), Ankit Sharma 3-0-28-0, Stuart Binny 1-0-1-0.<br /><br />RAJASTHAN ROYALS: Ajinkya Rahane c De Villiers b Chahal 42 (39b, 4x4 , Shane Watson c Karthik b Arvind 10 (5b, 2x4), Sanju Samson c Karthik b Harshal 5 (8b) Steven Smith c De Villiers b Wiese 12 (13b, 1x4), Karun Nair c Karthik b Harshal 12 (13b, 2x4), Deepak Hooda c Starc b Wiese 11 (14b), James Faulkner c&b Arvind 4 (4b, 1x4), Stuart Binny (run out) 0 (1b), Chris Morris c Chahal b Starc 0 (3b), Ankit Sharma (not out) 7 (5b, 1x4), Dhawal Kulkarni b Chahal 3 (9b). Extras (W-3) 3. Total (all out, 19 overs) 109.<br /><br />Fall of wickets: 1-14 (Watson), 2-33 (Samson), 3-55 (Steve Smith), 4-79 (Nair), 5-87 (Rahane), 6-92 (Faulkner), 7-92 (Binny), 8-95 (Morris), 9-99 (Hooda).<br />Bowling: Mitchell Starc 4-0-22-1 (W-1), S Arvind 4-0-20-2 (W-1), Harshal Patel 3-0-15-2, David Wiese 4-0-32-2, Yuzvendra Chahal 4-0-20-2.<br /><br /></div>
