DEFENDING champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru became the first team to qualify for the IPL play-offs after a 23-run win over Punjab Kings on Sunday, while Delhi Capitals kept their hopes alive with a five-wicket victory over Rajasthan Royals.
In Dharamsala, Virat Kohli struck 58 off 37 balls and Venkatesh Iyer made an unbeaten 73 as Bengaluru posted 222-4 after being invited to bat first.
Punjab replied with 199-8 despite late efforts from Marcus Stoinis, who hit 37, and Shashank Singh, who made 56.
The win consolidated Bengaluru's position at the top of the table and secured a place in the play-offs. Punjab, runners-up last year, suffered a sixth successive defeat and are no longer in control of their qualification hopes.
Kohli, who hit an unbeaten 105 in Bengaluru's previous match, continued his form with four fours and three sixes. He shared a stand of 78 with Devdutt Padikkal, who scored 45, after opener Jacob Bethell fell for 11.
Kohli reached his fourth fifty of the season and his 67th IPL half-century before leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal dismissed him.
Venkatesh then added quick runs with Tim David, who made 28, in an attacking fourth-wicket partnership.
Punjab lost openers Priyansh Arya for a duck and Prabhsimran Singh for two, both dismissed by Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Punjab slipped to 93-5 after captain Shreyas Iyer made one, while Cooper Connolly and Suryansh Shedge scored 37 each.
Stoinis and Shashank added 67 runs to revive the chase, but Bengaluru held on for their ninth win in 13 matches. Rasikh Salam returned figures of 3-36 after taking two wickets in the final over.
In Delhi, Australia's Mitchell Starc took 4-40 as Delhi defeated Rajasthan by five wickets at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
Starc took three wickets in four balls, including Rajasthan captain Riyan Parag for 51, as Rajasthan finished on 193-8.
Fifteen-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi scored 46 off 21 balls, while wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel top-scored with 53.
Delhi openers KL Rahul and Abishek Porel made 56 and 51 respectively and added 105 runs for the first wicket to set up the chase.
Delhi reached the target with four balls remaining for their sixth win in 13 matches.
Delhi lost wickets in the middle overs as Jofra Archer and Brijesh Sharma took two wickets each to keep Rajasthan in contention.
Captain Axar Patel then made 34 before impact substitute Ashutosh Sharma hit 18, including the winning six, to complete the chase.
Rajasthan slipped from fifth to sixth after their sixth defeat in 12 matches.
"Coming from a break, skill-wise, energy-wise, execution-wise we weren't there and if we play like this, we shouldn't be in the top four," said Parag.
"We had the opportunity, we didn't take it. If we don't qualify, it's our fault, nobody else's."
Delhi moved up to seventh in the 10-team table, with seven teams still competing for the remaining three play-off spots.
Earlier, Lungi Ngidi dismissed Yashasvi Jaiswal for 12 before Sooryavanshi counter-attacked with five fours and three sixes.
The left-handed opener, who has scored one century and two half-centuries this season, added 70 runs with Jurel before Madhav Tiwari stopped him short of a fifty.
Jurel and Parag kept Rajasthan moving before Starc removed Parag and Donovan Ferreira in successive deliveries and took another wicket in the same over.
Jurel held the innings together before being dismissed in the 20th over, but Delhi restricted Rajasthan to 33 runs in the final six overs while taking six wickets.
"We didn't bowl too badly in the powerplay but they batted well, but we brought things back later," said player-of-the-match Starc.
"And KL batted fantastically, and to finish at home with a win is always nice."
In reply, Rahul and Porel controlled the chase before Rajasthan fought back. Rahul was dismissed in the 15th over with Delhi needing 61 runs from 33 balls.
Archer dismissed Tristan Stubbs for four, while Brijesh removed another South African batter, David Miller, for nine.
Ashutosh then hit a four and two sixes in his five-ball innings to seal victory in Delhi's final home game.
(With inputs from agencies)
