Bowlers lead Rajasthan into CLT20 semi-finals

Result: Rajasthan Royals beat Perth Scorchers by nine wickets with 21 balls remaining Toss: Rajasthan Royals won the toss and chose to field first Perth Scorchers: 120 all out (Voges 27, Cooper 4/18, Faulkner 2/16) Perth never got going on a wicket that offered the bowlers a bit of assistance. Both openers fell inside the PowerPlay before captain Simon Katich and Adam Voges appeared to steady the innings, adding 33 together. Katich had a bit of good fortune when Pravin Tambe failed to hold on to a low return catch, but he made up for it two balls later when he fooled Katich with a googly to have him stumped for 12. Kevon Cooper then took over wicket-taking duties, snapping up a couple in his second over to reduce Perth to 77 for 5 in the 12th over. [caption id=“attachment_1141191” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Rahul Dravid congratulates Kevon Cooper for bowling Ashton Turner. BCCI[/caption] Wickets continued to tumble and Cooper came back to take two more in two balls, just missing a hat-trick to finish with figures of 4 for 18. The last wicket pair of Michael Beer and Jason Behrendoff added 23 to take Perth past the 100 mark but the total was never going to challenge Rajasthan. Rajasthan Royals: 121 for 1 from 16.3 overs (Rahane 62*, Samson 50*) Rahul Dravid was bowled for a duck in the first over but it proved to be the only blemish in the Royals’ chase. Sanju Samson and Ajinkya Rahane took a little time to settle down, but eventually got on top of the bowling. A top edged hook from Rahane went for six while Samson thumped Mennie over midwicket. The pair took few risks as the Perth attack looked increasingly ineffective. Rahane reached his half-century first, with a lofted inside-out cover drive off Beer that also brought up Royals 100. Samson almost missed out on his milestone, but with six needed, flicked Mennie for a four to get to 49 before taking a single to draw the scores level and reach his fifty. Rahane then finished off the match with a single to fine leg. With the win, Rajasthan area the second team to qualify for the semi-finals, with Chennai Super Kings having qualified from Group B yesterday. Turning Point: Katich and Voges seemed to have weathered the early storm and when Katich was given a life by Tambe, it appeared it could be his day. His stumping set of a sequence where Perth lost 5 wickets for 23 runs. Man of the Match: Kevon Cooper