Bangalore defeat Delhi by 6 wickets (11 balls remaining); Kolkata defeat Hyderabad by 22 runs
Kolkata Knight Riders 171-6 (Y Pathan 52, Pandey 48; Bhuvneshwar 2-31, Hooda 2-16) v Sunrisers Hyderabad 149-8 (Dhawan 51; Narine 3-26)
Delhi Daredevils 138-8 (De Kock 60; Chahal 3-32, Gayle 2-11) v Royal Challengers Bangalore 139-4 (Kohli 54 not out, Rahul 38; Brathwaite 1-18, Negi 1-19)
Virat Kohli, rising into the moment as the world's star batsman, put in a classy innings on Sunday to lead Royal Challengers Bangalore into the Indian Premier League semi-final.
Tasked with a tame chase, Kohli nonetheless held steady as Bangalore’s other heavy hitters – AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle – supplied only seven runs between them. Kohli, springboarding his runner-up finish in the runs table at the World Twenty20 by well and away leading the run-scorers in this ninth IPL season, didn’t need to be his most explosive (he did not hit a six). He just needed to guide his side along, which he did with a composed, unbeaten 45-ball 54, six boundaries to his cause.
Kolkata Knight Riders sealed the other of the four play-off berths that hung in the balance going into the IPL's final matchday.
It was an anti-climax of sorts, though, with batting failures by Sunrisers Hyderabad – already assured of a place in the semi-final – and Delhi Daredevils making the task easy for the winners on the night.
Bangalore were in the driver’s seat once none of the Delhi batsmen, barring Quinton de Kock, showed the resolve to stay on the wicket in an inept show of batting first.
Once De Kock left for a hard-fought 60 along with Chris Morris’ unbeaten 27 at the end, Delhi limped over to 138 for eight.
For the explosive Bangalore top order, it was easy pickings, even as Gayle and De Villiers raised the Daredevils’ hopes.
But that only meant Kohli and Lokesh Rahul (38) took just a little more time to repair the damage and coast home in 18.1 overs.
Before the start of the final two games in the round-robin group stages, six teams were potentially in the fray and net run-rate could have proved crucial.
But Hyderabad failed to turn up in their chase after Kolkata recovered from 57 for three to post 171 for six. Hyderabad have rode on David Warner’s batting in the tournament and once he was out for 18, Shikhar Dhawan (51) was the only leading batsman as Kolkata went on to win by 22 runs.
Kolkata spinner Kuldeep Yadav, coming in for Piyush Chawla, took two wickets for 28 to compliment Sunil Narine’s 2-26, including Dhawan’s wicket. “There is always pressure when you are playing the last game of the group stage where you need to win,” Yadav told the post-match conference.
“I also had come in as a replacement for Piyush Chawla who is a senior player, so there was immense pressure. But after the first over it was gone.”
Bangalore and Gujarat Lions, who topped the regular season table, play in the Qualifier 1 match on Tuesday in Bangalore, with the winner advancing directly to the IPL 9 final.
Hyderabad and Kolkata then play on Wednesday in Delhi in a match for the right to play the loser of Tuesday’s 1 v 2 contest. Then on Friday, also in Delhi, the second semi-final will finally be played.
The 2016 IPL final is May 29 in Bangalore.
IPL play-offs bracket:
1 Gujarat Lions v 2 Royal Challengers Bangalore, Tuesday May 24, Bangalore, 8pm (6.30pm UAE) – winner advances to final
3 Sunrisers Hyderabad v 4 Kolkata Knight Riders, Wednesday May 25, Delhi, 8pm (6.30pm UAE) – loser eliminated; winner advances to play 1 v 2 loser
1/2 loser v 3/4 winner, Friday May 27, Delhi, 8pm (6.30pm UAE) – loser eliminated; winner advances to final
IPL 9 Final – Sunday May 29, Bangalore, 8pm (6.30pm UAE)
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