Phil Salt Leads RCB to IPL Final with Stellar Performance Against PBKS
RCB Secures IPL Final Spot
After a decisive victory over Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the IPL Qualifier one, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batsman Phil Salt expressed his determination to avoid getting dismissed by Arshdeep Singh, the bowler who had previously taken his wicket twice.
Salt continued his impressive form in the IPL, smashing a powerful half-century that propelled RCB to their fourth final, achieving an eight-wicket win at Mullanpur on Thursday.
In the post-match presentation, Salt shared, "It feels fantastic right now. The ball did have some movement. I believe this pitch was one of the better ones we've played on this season. My focus was to not get out to Arshdeep, as he has found various ways to dismiss me in our two group matches, so I aimed to react to the ball effectively."
"This victory gives us great momentum; it's a cliché, but it's true. At this stage of the tournament, you want to find your rhythm and contribute with both bat and ball," he added.
Throughout the current season, Salt has amassed 387 runs in 12 innings, averaging 35.18 with a strike rate of 175.90, including four fifties and a top score of 65. He ranks as RCB's second-highest run-scorer, with all his half-centuries coming while chasing in just six innings.
Additionally, Salt reached the milestone of 1,000 IPL runs, becoming the joint-second-fastest player to achieve this in 575 balls, matching Travis Head from Sunrisers Hyderabad. The record for the fastest is held by his former teammate Andre Russell, who accomplished it in 545 balls.
In his 33 IPL matches, Salt has scored 1,040 runs at an average of 34.66 and a strike rate of 175.67, including 10 fifties, with a personal best of 89*.
After RCB chose to bowl first, PBKS struggled, finding themselves at 48/4 during the powerplay, with Bhuvneshwar, Hazlewood, and Yash performing exceptionally well.
Marcus Stoinis contributed 26 runs off 17 balls, while Azmatullah Omarzai added 18 runs, helping PBKS reach 101 in 14.1 overs.
Suyash Sharma (3/17) and Josh Hazlewood (3/21) were RCB's standout bowlers, with Yash Dayal taking 2/26 in four overs. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Romario Shepherd each claimed a wicket.
In their chase, RCB lost Virat Kohli (12) and Mayank Agarwal (19), but Phil Salt (56* off 27 balls, including six fours and three sixes) and captain Rajat Patidar (15*) guided RCB to victory in just 10 overs, with eight wickets remaining.
Kyle Jamieson and Musheer Khan each took a wicket, while Suyash was named 'Player of the Match.'
With this win, RCB advances to the finals, while PBKS will have another opportunity to compete for the title against the winner of the eliminator match between Mumbai Indians (MI) and Gujarat Titans (GT) on June 1 in Ahmedabad.