It was cliffhanger last night as Rajasthan Royals played Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL 2019. Rain had delayed the start of the match and after the surface became playable the fans who waited for hours in the stands were treated to a five-over per side shootout. However, with only the last two overs in the chase, the rain returned much to the crowd’s disappointment and the match had to be called off.
Before the rain arrived, RCB had managed to put a decent score of 63 on the board. Varun Aaron was all over the place as he conceded 23 runs in the first over as many felt that RCB will post a huge total on the board for a five-over game.
#RCBvRR #IPL2019 | Match called off due to rain
Gallery: https://t.co/FwBGWK60Tn pic.twitter.com/Dud6TfnQ6t
— Hindustan Times (@htTweets) April 30, 2019
Then came the anti-climax in the form of Shreyas Gopal who was hit for a six by Kohli, but he redeemed himself in some manner by outfoxing both Kohli and ABD on successive deliveries before tricking Marcus Stoinis to complete a sensational first hattrick of IPL 2019. The score read 35/3 after two overs, and RCB still had three overs left but they could only muster up a mere 27 runs in the last three overs, thanks to some good bowling by Riyan Parag, Jaydev Unadkat and Oshane Thomas.
In reply of that, RR started well themselves courtesy of Sanju Samson and Liam Livingstone. After the first three overs, the score was 40/0 with 23 runs needed from the last two overs. But there was a complete anti-climax as the heavens opened up and the players shook hands with a smile on their face.
Take a Bow Gopal , you won’t get much better Hattricks than that 🤭
— Carlos Brathwaite (@TridentSportsX) April 30, 2019
Both teams shared spoils and RCB are now mathematically out of the running for playoffs. The same can be said for RR who have a massive uphill task on their hands courtesy of a low net run rate. Twitter lauded Shreyas Gopal for his heroics and this is how some users reacted to yesterday’s abandoned match.
RCB are the first team out of the #IPL2019 playoffs race https://t.co/YFrXCIWMNf #RCBvRR pic.twitter.com/MBLEqDNWPS
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) April 30, 2019
#IPL2019 #RCB Another season but same old Royal Challengers Bangalore https://t.co/vQGdxv1rf2 pic.twitter.com/83oLWgfAVj
— India TV (@indiatvnews) May 1, 2019
RCB tried their best to give everyone a chance to bat in a five-over game. #IPL2019
— Chetan Narula (@chetannarula) April 30, 2019
When I See posts like "Still RCB can Qualify To Playoffs"#IPL2019 pic.twitter.com/NB0VibsnmH
— Aboiwithnojob (@aboiwithnojob) April 28, 2019
Shreyas Gopal has dismissed AB de Villiers & Virat Kohli in the same innings on three different occasions. #IPL2019 pic.twitter.com/PFzHRxzuy7
— CricTracker (@Cricketracker) May 1, 2019
With RCB out of the running for playoffs, they will take up the field in their next game against Sunrisers Hyderabad with nothing but self-respect on the line. Elsewhere, RR will take on Delhi Capitals and hope for a favor from Mumbai Indians to slip up to qualify for semis.
