Indian star batter Virat Kohli’s masterclass knock helped Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to beat Punjab Kings (PBKS) by 4 wickets in a highly intense match at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. RCB batters held their nerves to secure the first win of the tournament in an exciting encounter while PBKS failed to register consecutive wins. Kohli single-handedly led RCB’s chase of 177 right from the start. The right-handed batter’s superb knock of 49-ball 77 kept RCB in the hunt till the end. It was a treat for the home crowd as Dinesh Karthik’s brilliant cameo of 10-ball 28 took RCB over the line in the final over.
After being put into bat first, PBKS lost power-hitting Jonny Bairstow (8) early with Kohli taking a fine catch at mid-wicket. PBKS skipper Shikhar Dhawan and impact player Prabhsimran Singh added 55 runs to steady their innings. Looking for a wicket, RCB captain Faf du Plessis brought Glenn Maxwell into the attack, and he responded well by dismissing Singh for 25. Alzarri Joseph then bowled a cunning outside-off delivery to dismiss dangerous Liam Livingstone (17).
Dhawan (45), who played a classical knock, missed his half-century by 5 runs. Sam Curran and Jitesh Sharma chipped in with 23 and 27 respectively. It seemed as if PBKS would not reach a healthy total but Shashank Singh’s excellent cameo of 8-ball 21 helped the visitors to reach 176/6 in 20 overs. Mohammed Siraj and Maxwell picked up two wickets each for RCB.
RCB’s chase got off to a good start as Kohli smashed Curran for four 4s in the very first over. But PBKS came back strong by picking up two quick wickets, Kagiso Rabada dismissed du Plessis (3) and Cameron Green (3) in consecutive overs. However, Kohli batted beautifully to score runs quickly.
Harpreet Brar then gave RCB a double blow, cleaning up Rajat Patidar (18) and Maxwell (3) in his successive overs. The way Kohli batted, everyone thought that he would easily win the game for RCB. But in the 16th over, Harshal Patel picked up the crucial wicket of Kohli to bring his side back into the game. However, an unbeaten 48-run partnership between Karthik and Mahipal Lomror in no time took RCB home.
