Dugout News : IPL 2022 LSG dropped chances made RCB win the Eliminator

Avesh Khan and Mohsin Khan started well by dismissing two big guns, Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli. However, Rajat Patidar walked in and forged a massive stand to put Lucknow bowlers under pressure and took the total to 207 for RCB. 

Rajat Patidar was dropped twice en route to his maiden IPL ton, while Dinesh Karthik at a single-digit score by captain KL Rahul. The catch drops of these major power-hitters resulted in a loss in the crucial eliminator round as they got defeated by 14 runs.

In the post-match conference, KL Rahul said, "It is hard to pinpoint one thing on his team's loss. Skillswise, you can have a bad day and go wrong with your execution. Something that has let us down badly in this game is our fielding. We dropped some easy catches…I dropped DK when he was batting, probably in single digits. Patidar was dropped when he was batting on 60 or 70... Dropping them cost us that extra 30-40 runs."

Sloppy fielding: a reason for loss of LSG

“Luck-now mei Luck hota hai, lekin fielding mei nahi laaye aaj.” Former cricketer Irfan Pathan tweeted

Amit Mishra, too, expressed his views on fielding on Twitter. He wrote, "Batting and bowling performances were same by RCB and Lucknow but it was the fielding which made the difference. Lucknow dropped catches, and RCB fielded outstanding. Congratulations to RCB. #RCBvsLSG #TATAIPL2022.”

Rajat Patidar's brutal innings against Lucknow

Having to bat first, the big guns of Royal Challengers Bangalore like Faf du Plessis, Virat Kohli and Glenn Maxwell failed to fire big shots from their bats. However, little-known Rajat Patidar walked in at number 3 and single-handedly destroyed the bowling attack of Lucknow Super Giants and created many records. The 28-year-old batter ended up unbeaten at 112 off 54 balls. Patidar became the first player to score a century in the IPL eliminator and the first one for RCB to fetch a ton in the IPL playoffs. He was also the first uncapped player to score a hundred in the playoffs. 

He made the fastest century of the IPL 2022 season, consisting of 12 boundaries and seven maximums. 

Things would have been different had he not been dropped by fielders twice. After being dropped on 72 by Deepak Hooda at the deep mid-wicket boundary, the batter hit Ravi Bishnoi for two sixes and one four in his last over. Later, Manan Vohra dropped him off at 93, to which batter replied Mohsin Khan with a humongous six in the next delivery. Fate wrote a different story for the batter, making him shine like a star in the eliminator match.

Cricketers couldn't stop hailing the young man for his effortless and fearless inning against Lucknow in such a crucial match.

Amit Mishra tweets, "Came in as a replacement for Karnataka Batsman Luvnith Sisodia and is today giving RCB more than a chance to win this eliminator with his century. Take a bow Rajat Patidar, you made all of us proud today. #RCBvsLSG #IPL2022.”     

Harsha Bhogle wrote, "Possibly the innings of the tournament from #RajatPatidar. What a gem."  

"Can I tweet twice about this Rajat Patidar's inning? BRILLIANT!" said Irfan Pathan.

Virat Kohli said, "I have seen many impact innings and many innings under pressure over so many years in a post-match interview. I have not seen any better than how Rajat played today."

Was Hasaranga's catch of Deepak Hooda legal?

"Is this the longest time someone has held on to a catch and still it's not a catch???" Aakash Chopra commented on the situation.

While defending a colossal total of 207, Royal Challengers Bangalore did not give any loose moment on the field. They tried to save every single run possible, which gave them an edge in the form of a 14-run win over Lucknow Super Giants. One such eye-catching effort came from Wanindu Hasaranga patrolling near the boundary ropes at a deep point. The fielder made a frantic effort to catch Deepak Hooda, which was deemed safe instead of a six, thus saving five runs for his team.

Before releasing it, he held the ball for a decently long while, twisted and turned on the ground. But why was it not given out?

The bowler sprinted to the boundary to take the catch. Unable to control his momentum, he invariably crashed into the advertising cushion. He even looked around to fling the ball towards any player nearby to complete the relay catch, which couldn't happen. His superb reflex went for the next best option to save it from a six, which he smartly managed. As he slid, to avoid his legs from touching the cushion, he hurled the ball in the air and quickly gathered himself, but the ball had landed by then, leaving the catch incomplete. 

The cursed shot of T20 by KL Rahul 

LSG needed 28 runs in the last eight deliveries, and that's when KL Rahul thought to play the scoop, the cursed shot of T20 during such crucial times on Josh Hazelwood's ball. He got caught by Shahbaz Ahmed on a short fine leg, who timed his jump to perfection and the celebration from him made every fan believe that they've now won the game. Josh Hazelwood took Krunal Pandya's wicket on the next ball and left LSG with a 24 runs total to chase in the final over, which was defended very well by Harshal Patel.

Harshal Patel: the pressure absorbing bowler for RCB

Harshal Patel was entitled "the joker in the pack" by skipper Faf du Plessis for his remarkable inning with the ball in a critical situation against Lucknow Super Giants. KL Rahul was standing steady, all set to take over RCB bowlers. However, in that tough spot, Faf du Plessis gave the responsibility to Harshal Patel, keeping his two overs intact for the end of the innings. Harshal's third over was crucial, as Super Giants needed 41 off 18 balls. He started with a wide, then another wide, going for four. As wides didn't go well for him, he switched back to his plans from earlier two overs in which he went for just eight. He mixed up slow deliveries with hard lengths into pitch, forcing the batter at strike to hit across the line. It worked, and Marcus Stoinis found Rajat Patidar at a deep point. His over left LSG 33 runs off 12balls. 

Faf du Plessis praised the bowler and said, "He's a joker in the pack, isn't he? A special card you pull out. More than anything, it's the time that he bowls. He's a high-pressure-time bowler. Every single time I feel the pressure is the most, I go to him. He has even asked for it."

"In one of my first conversations with him, he said, 'I want to bowl the important overs.' That confidence speaks for itself. So, today to bowl the important overs and especially that second-last one, to change the game almost single handedly, [it was] awesome," he added.

KL Rahul complemented Harshal: "Harshal's two overs pushed us back. He gave away just seven or eight runs, he really changed his pace well. He bowled to the field, and that pushed us back a little bit."