Punjab Kings (PBKS) recorded their first 200 plus chase in over 8 years as they defeated RCB in a high scoring contest at the DY Patil Stadium, as Punjab started their campaign on a positive note.
Punjab Kings (PBKS) defeat RCB by 5 wickets
Punjab skipper Mayank Agarwal won the toss and elected to bat first on a pitch that was conducive for batting. Punjab Kings were missing their key foreign players in Kagiso Rabada and Jonny Bairstow. On the other hand, RCB was without Maxwell and Josh Hazelwood.
RCB openers Faf du Plessis and Anuj Rawat started slowly and made only 41 runs in the powerplay. Anuj Rawat was then dismissed by Chahar right after the powerplay. Then former skipper Kohli and current captain Faf du Plessis stitched a 118-run stand in quick succession where most of the damage was done by skipper Faf du Plessis.
In his debut knock as captain, Faf scored 88 runs off 57 balls which included five boundaries and seven maximums. Virat Kohli played the perfect anchors role in the innings as he notched up an unbeaten 41 runs off 27 balls. Veteran Dinesh Karthik played the perfect finisher’s role as he took apart the Punjab bowlers at the death by scoring blistering 32 off just 14 balls. RCB set a huge target of 206 for the kings to chase.
In the chase, almost all Punjab batters made valuable contributions. PBKS openers Mayank and Shikhar Dhawan gave their team the best possible start as the duo scored 63 runs in the powerplay. Mayank scored 32 and Dhawan made 43 runs before getting dismissed. However, Sri Lankan keeper Bhanuka Rajapaksa did not let the asking run rate creep up as he launched an onslaught on the RCB bowlers. He scored 43 off just 22 deliveries, targeting the opposition’s main spinner Hasaranga.
Mohammad Siraj brought RCB back with two quick wickets. But PBKS’s power hitters Shah Rukh Khan and Odean Smith took the RCB bowlers to the cleaners as RCB fielders failed to take their chances in the field. The duo of SRK and Odean scored 25 runs in the 18th over of Siraj which pretty much sealed the game for PBKS. RCB bowlers gave away 22 extra runs which shows that they had an ordinary outing in the field. Shahrukh’s 12 balls 24 and Odean’s 8 ball 25 took Punjab over the line as they chased their second-highest target in the IPL.
ALSO READ: IPL 2022 – MATCH 2: MI VS DC REVIEW: MI BEGIN THEIR CAMPAIGN WITH ANOTHER 1ST MATCH LOSS
