(ESPNCRICINFO) – Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) waltzed their way into their first IPL final since 2016 as they blew Punjab Kings (PBKS) away for 101 on a surface with seam and extra bounce. Batting didn’t get any easier in the second innings, but Phil Salt broke the back of the small chase in the powerplay that went for 61 despite a wicket-maiden in it.

The RCB fast bowlers kept bashing the hard lengths as PBKS refused to dial down the aggression on the challenging surface, taking seven wickets between them. The legspinner Suyash Sharma was the beneficiary of some reckless sweeping; the PBKS batters didn’t pick any of the wrong’uns, losing three wickets to him.

The ball bounced and moved more in the second innings than the first, just the time for Salt to unleash his quickest fifty in the IPL – off just 23 balls – to take RCB home with a whole ten overs to spare.

RCB quicks all over PBKS

Even before the nature of the pitch made itself apparent to the outside eye, Priyansh Arya failed to keep a drive down. It wasn’t as much failing to keep it down but not even going up and over. Prabhsimran Singh, the other part of the dynamic opening partnership, charged Bhuvneshwar Kumar twice and hit two fours. At the third time of asking, Bhuvneshwar shortened the length, the ball seamed, and took the edge.

It was when the returning Josh Hazlewood took the ball in the fourth over that it became clear it was a difficult track. Shreyas Iyer, only 25 runs to his name in four innings in New Chandigarh, tried to pull Hazlewood in front of square and edged him to the keeper. Josh Inglis tried a more regulation pull in Hazlewood’s next, and the extra bounce took the top edge.