RR vs RCB Highlights, IPL 2024: 3 moments that generated buzz among fans in Eliminator ft. Virat Kohli

Rajasthan Royals (RR) knocked Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) out of IPL 2024 by winning the Eliminator by four wickets on Wednesday, May 22. Despite a few jitters in the chase, RR managed to go past the 173-run target with an over to spare.

Sanju Samson won an important toss and asked RCB to bat first with dew likely to become a factor in the chase. The Royal Challengers batters did get off to starts, but none could convert them into big scores. That was one of the main reasons why they only ended up with 172/8 in their 20 overs.

The chase wasn't a straightforward one either as the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sanju Samson lost their wickets at crucial junctures. However, the Royals had enough in their tank to get over their nerves and win their first IPL 2024 game in May.

On that note, let's take a look at three moments from the game that grabbed the attention of fans on social media:

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#3 Ravichandran Ashwin's double strike

There has been a lot of talk about Ravichandran Ashwin being a defensive bowler in T20s of late and not picking enough wickets. However, the veteran off-spinner turned up big time against RCB and won the Player of the Match with his figures of 2/19.

The two wickets that Ashwin got were of Cameron Green and Glenn Maxwell on back-to-back deliveries. Green tried to smash Ashwin over long-on but the carrom ball meant that the batter could only hit it straight up in the air and Rovman Powell completed a simple catch.

Glenn Maxwell walked out to bat and first up tried to smash the ball out of the ground. However, he ended up hitting it straight down the throat of long on. With Will Jacks unavailable, RCB needed Maxwell to play responsibly and score big and fans seemed disappointed with his approach.

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#2 Controversial DRS reversal of Dinesh Karthik's LBW

Dinesh Karthik could have possibly ended his IPL career with a golden duck, had it not been for some dubious umpiring decisions that have been a common occurrence in IPL 2024. Karthik was trapped in front on the first ball he faced from Avesh Khan and the on-field umpire adjudged him LBW.

After a bit of hesitation, the RCB wicketkeeper went for a review and that suggested that he knew he was in trouble. While the UltraEdge showed a spike, the third umpire was pretty quick in determining that it was the ball hitting the bat and not the bat hitting the pad.

The keeper-batter was adjudged not out and that left the RR players and Kumar Sangakkara in the dugout furious. Several fans and former cricketers called out the poor umpiring on social media and expressed their disappointment in not being able to make full use of technology.

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#1 Virat Kohli the athlete rising to the occasion

RCB kept fighting back in the field despite having an under-par total to defend and one of their best moments was produced by none other than Virat Kohli. The veteran cricketer showed just why fitness was such a crucial component of his game as he affected a sensational run out of Dhruv Jurel.

Riyan Parag hit a delivery from Cameron Green towards mid-wicket and called Dhruv Jurel for a double. Jurel took the first run quickly but was a bit hesitant to return for the second. Kohli sprinted from square leg to deep mid-wicket, gathered the ball swiftly, and threw the ball accurately while being in the momentum.

That fraction of a second, thanks to Kohli's speed and agility, was enough to find Jurel short at the non-striker's end. Green didn't collect the ball cleanly, but the ball seemed to be in contact with his wrists as he dislodged the bails. While RCB didn't win the game, this moment made fans once again be in awe of Kohli's fitness.