What happened the last time RR played RCB in an Eliminator clash in the IPL?

It’ll be a battle royale when Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) square off in the Eliminator fixture of the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL). The two sides are set to face off on Wednesday, May 22, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

In 17 years of the tournament’s existence, RR and RCB have squared off just twice in the playoffs, once in IPL 2015 and then in IPL 2022. The two sides made it to the top four and clashed in the Eliminator contest in 2015, with RCB moving further in the tournament.

It is to be noted that the team winning the Eliminator contest between RCB and RR will move one step ahead in the race to the final and face SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Qualifier 2 on Friday, May 24. The losing side will be knocked out of the tournament.

Rajasthan and Bengaluru’s first-ever clash in the IPL playoffs came in 2015 when they locked horns in the Eliminator at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune. RCB came out on top and won the contest by 71 runs.

What happened in the RR vs RCB Eliminator clash in IPL 2015?

Electing to bat first, RCB openers Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli got off to a shaky start as none of them could get to a good score. While the explosive Caribbean batter managed to get 27 in 26 balls, Kohli was dismissed, scoring just 12 runs off 18 balls.

It was then the game-changing partnership between AB de Villiers and Mandeep Singh that got the Bangalore-based team back on track. The Proteas player’s 38-ball 66, followed by the latter’s 54*(34), saw RCB getting to a decent total of 180/4.

Coming to the chase, RR faced an early setback as Shane Watson was dismissed cheaply, scoring just 10 runs off five balls. Wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson too couldn’t make a mark and followed the Aussie, walking back to the dugout. While Ajinkya Rahane kept going, he didn’t receive much support from the other end.

RCB bowlers were quick in taking wickets and struck at regular intervals. RR’s middle-order batters were left clueless against RCB’s bowling attack as the game slipped away from their hands. Yuzvendra Chahal, David Wiese, Harshal Patel, and Sreenath Aravind picked up two wickets each, while Mitchell Starc finished with one as all the bowlers got their names listed in the wicket-taking charts.

Courtesy of a brilliant bowling display by RCB, the-then Virat Kohli-led side bagged a dominant 71-run win to set up a Qualifier 2 clash against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) only to eventually lose it.