Kolkata: Rajat Patidar owned the big stage with a magnificent hundred as Royal Challengers Bangalore beat debutants Lucknow Super Giants by 14 runs in the IPL Eliminator here on Wednesday. RCB will now take on Rajasthan Royals, losers of first qualifiers, in qualifier 2, while Lucknow's journey ended following the defeat here.
Invited to bat, Patidar, the 28-year-old from Madhya Pradesh, produced an innings for the ages as he towered over his more illustrious colleagues with an unbeaten 54-ball 112-run knock that had as many as 12 fours and 7 maximums to power RCB to a huge 207 for 4. In reply, skipper KL Rahul slammed a 58-ball 79 to keep Lucknow in the hunt but Josh Hazlewood (3/43) dealt a twin blow in the penultimate over as LSG finished at 193 for 6.
Brief Scores:
Royal Challengers Bangalore: 207 for 4 in 20 overs (Rajat Patidar 111 not out; Mohsin Khan 1/25).—PTI