Bengaluru thrash Punjab to reach IPL final
Phil Salt plays hit an unbeaten 56 as Bengaluru cruised to a playoff victory over Punjab
Australia's Josh Hazlewood returned figures of 3-21 to help Royal Challengers Bengaluru storm into the Indian Premier League final with a eight-wicket thrashing of Punjab Kings on Thursday.
Bengaluru bundled out Punjab for 101, and overhauled that target with 10 overs to spare in the first qualifier of the T20 tournament at Mullanpur in New Chandigarh.
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Punjab will have another shot at making the final on June 3 when they face the winner of the eliminator between the teams that finished third and fourth in the table.
Opener Phil Salt made an unbeaten 56 not out as Bengaluru made their fourth IPL final in the hunt for a first title.
Star batter Virat Kohli fell caught behind for 12 off New Zealand quick Kyle Jamieson, who took a wicket without giving a run in the over.
Salt put on 54 runs with Mayank Agarwal, who fell for 19. Skipper Rajat Patidar made 15 and hit the winning six.
Bowlers set up victory after Bengaluru elected to field and got a Hazlewood boost as the fast bowler returned after a shoulder injury.
Hazlewood struck two key blows, including skipper Shreyas Iyer, to rattle Punjab's batting.
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Left-arm seamer Yash Dayal drew first blood to send back Priyansh Arya caught out for seven in the second over and soon fellow opener Prabhsimran Singh fell for 18.
Hazlewood then struck twice to get Iyer caught behind in his first over and then Punjab's previous-match hero Josh Inglis, for seven, in his next.
Wickets kept tumbling and Punjab lost half their side in 6.3 overs when Dayal bowled the left-handed Nehal Wadhera.
Australia's Marcus Stoinis attempted to hit back as wickets fell at the other end as he made 26 off 17 balls with the two fours and two sixes.
Leg-spinner Suyash Sharma took two wickets in one over and when he dismissed Stoinis as his third victim, the Punjab crowd fell silent.
Afghanistan's Azmatullah Omarzai helped the total past 100 before he was last out to Hazlewood and Punjab's innings folded in 14.1 overs.
Gujarat Titans will take on Mumbai Indians in the eliminator at the same venue on Friday.
The league was extended by nine days after being paused due to a military conflict between India and Pakistan. The revised schedule put it on collision course with the international calendar.
Some overseas players are missing from the playoffs including Gujarat's Jos Buttler, who was playing on Thursday for England against West Indies at Edgbaston.
