IPL 2018: Tripathi, Gopal keep Royals in the hunt

BANGALORE: Rahul Tripathi’s maiden half-century of IPL 2018, followed by a Shreyas Gopal four-fer kept Rajasthan Royals in the hunt for the two available playoffs spot courtesy a 30-run annihilation of Royal Challengers Bangalore in their final league game of the season. Tripathi overcame a lean patch to top-score with an unbeaten 80, helping RR to a healthy 164 despite a mid-innings stutter triggered by Umesh Yadav.

RCB seemed well on course before the leg-spinners came into action. Gopal stole the show by picking four key batsmen in the middle-order, including half-centurion AB de Villiers, to cripple the visitors. Ben Laughlin put the final nail in the coffin with his double-wicket over. Despite a late resurgence, RCB’s campaign ended in a heartbreak after they folded for 134 in the final over.

Tripathi and Heinrich Klaassen came to the party, finally, and their contributions made all the difference to RR’s score. Tripathi held one end together, notching up his personal best of the season and carrying his bat through for a 58-ball 80. His partnership with captain Ajinkya Rahane (33) laid the path for their comeback after the surprise move to promote Jofra Archer as an opener backfired. Tripathi was very calculated in his assault, punishing only the loose ones for his five boundaries and three sixes, as he went past 30 for the first time in the season. Klaassen too was watchful at the start but switched gears timely to put his team on course for a 150-plus total with a 21-ball cameo worth 32. K Gowtham’s two biggies in the final over were the icing on the cake for the hosts, giving them 164 to defend - par score for a wicket like the one in Jaipur.

For as long as their powerplay lasted, RCB seemed well on course. Parthiv Patel had provided the usual, brisk start that he does at the top of the order. That after the visitors had lost their skipper early, trying to hit Gowtham across the line. De Villiers gave him company, striking boundaries almost at will. However, the real test for RCB’s batsmen was going to be against the spinners and that’s exactly where they lost the game.

Bangalore leggie, Shreyas Gopal, who returned figures of 4-0-16-4. His victims in the night included - Parthiv, Moeen Ali, Mandeep Singh and de Villiers, in that order. And that was the end of RCB’s challenge.

Things went pear-shaped for RCB when Rahane brought on Gopal and Ish Sodhi in tandem as soon as the powerplay was done with. Even as de Villiers tried to attack Sodhi in his first over, Gopal took out both left-handers, Parthiv and Moeen, in the space of four balls. Mandeep Singh failed to make an impact yet again, while Sodhi took out Colin de Grandhomme cheaply to leave RCB in complete tatters. In between the carnage, de Villiers got to his fifty with another spectacular boundary shot but it was Gopal’s day and he wrapped up a miserly spell with the most-prized wicket of the in-form South African. De Villiers misread a googly, leaving both Gopal as well as Kohli, in the dugout, shocked.

With 5/47 in their eight overs between them, their bowling was quite easily the moment that flipped the game in RR’s favour for good, leaving Sarfraz Khan as the last recognised batsman, with 67 more to get.

RCB will go back to the drawing board and see where they went wrong tonight, and earlier in the season. As for Rajasthan, they have done what was in their hands to boost their playoffs chances, and will now be waiting for the rest of the results to find out whether they actually go through or, unfortunately, miss out still.