Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) held its nerve to record a four-wicket victory over Punjab Kings in their IPL encounter at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Monday.
RCB had bumps along the road in pursuit of a par 177-run target. The chase was shepherded by Virat Kohli, who made a busy 49-ball 77. But when the star batter was dismissed by RCB old boy Harshal Patel, the home team was left with 47 runs to get in four overs.
Impact player Mahipal Lomror (17 n.o., 8b, 2x4, 1x6) and seasoned campaigner Dinesh Karthik (28 n.o., 10b, 3x4, 2x6) were up to the task, while PBKS speedsters Harshal, Sam Curran and Arshdeep Singh wilted under the pressure. RCB reached the finish line with four balls to spare when Karthik spanked Arshdeep for a six and a straight four.
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The packed house was loudest when Kohli was on song. Kohli was in terrific touch, smashing good deliveries on the up over cover. Kohli fell at a crucial juncture, leading to worried faces in the RCB camp. Lomror and Karthik, however, ensured that RCB recorded its first win of the tournament.
After being put in to bat, Punjab Kings (PBKS) stuttered in the face of a disciplined RCB attack.
Pacer Yash Dayal (1/23) was impressive, hitting the right length and getting movement both ways. The PBKS top-order had no answer to the consistent Dayal, with skipper Shikhar Dhawan even shouldering arms to the first three deliveries he faced.
Jonny Bairstow tried to compensate for the slow approach by taking on Mohammed Siraj, only to sky a pull to Kohli inside the circle.
Next man Prabhsimran Singh punished anything on the pads. Offspinner Glenn Maxwell stayed well away from this strength, getting Prabhsimran tied up with a quicker one which reared from length.
Liam Livingstone was sent in to hike the run rate. The gamble did not pay off, as Livingstone nicked a rising express ball from Alzarri Joseph to the ‘keeper.
PBKS’s Shikhar Dhawan, plays a shot during the IPL 2024 match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) vs Punjab Kings (PBKS), in Bengaluru. | Photo Credit: MURALI KUMAR K/ The Hindu
Dhawan continued to bat cautiously, finally lobbing one from Maxwell to long-off. Sam Curran, who made a match-winning 63 in the previous match, put on 52 runs for the fifth wicket with Jitesh Sharma (27, 20b).
Rawat capped a memorable night with the gloves when he leapt in the air and plucked a one-handed catch to dismiss Curran.
Shashank Singh (21 n.o., 8b, 1x4, 2x6) provided PBKS with much-needed spark towards the end of the essay.
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