Royal Challengers Bangalore have taken a step closer to the Indian Premier League final by beating Rajasthan Royals by 71 runs in Pune.
The Royal Challengers will now face Chennai Super Kings, with the winner going on to meet Mumbai Indians in the final.
Bangalore posted a total of 180-4 before the Royals were bowled out for just 109 with an over remaining.
AB de Villiers (66) and Mandeep Singh (54 not out) made the bulk of the Royal Challengers' runs, while Chris Gayle (27) and Virat Kohli (12) also chipped in at the top of the order.
Dhawal Kulkarni ended with bowling figures of 2-28 for Rajasthan, who also had Chris Morris among the wickets. De Villiers was run out thanks to the work of James Faulkner and Stuart Binny.
Despite a knock of 42 from opener Ajinkya Rahane, the Royals struggled to consistently put runs on the board.
Sanju Samson was dismissed for five, while Shane Watson (10), Steven Smith (12), Karun Nair (12) and Deepak Hooda (11) all failed to take the match to their opponents. A lower-order collapse that yielded just 14 runs confirmed Bangalore's progress.
Sreenath Aravind, Harshal Patel, David Wiese and Yuzvendra Chahal all ended with two wickets apiece for the Royals Challengers, who also had Mitchell Starc do some damage with the ball.
Jack Prescott
