Picture : IPL / X
Royal Challengers Bengaluru came out with fine batting power display to thrash Punjab Kings 60 runs in a Tata IPL 2024 encounter at Dharamsala.
Earlier Punjab Kings Skipper Sam Curran like his earlier match against CSK won the toss and opted to bowl and both times the move back-fired. Royal Challengers Bengaluru thanks to ordinary fielding and several dropped catches allowed RCB to get away . RCB lost skipper Faf du Plessis out early for 9. Will Jacks ( 12) .
Riding his luck twice Virat Kohli dropped on 0 by Ashutosh off ( Vidhwath Kaverappa) and again a tough chance by Rilee Rossouw made the kings pay heavily as he smashed a blazing 92 ( 46 balls, 7 fours , 6 sixes) and was unlucky to miss outa fabulous ton.
Rajat Patidar blasted a superb 23 Ball 55 ( 3 fours, 6 sixes). Big hitting Aussie Cameron Green finally showed some power 46 ( 27 balls , 5 fours 1 six) , Dinesh Karthik ( 18 ) . RCB finishing at a mammoth 241/ 7 in their 20 overs.
Punjab bowling and their fielding were just ordinary and figures say it . Vidhwath Kaverappa 2/ 36 ( 4 overs) debutant bowled well but saw several catches dropped too. Arshdeep Singh 1/ 41 ( 3 overs), Sam Curran 1/ 50 ( 3 overs), Harshal Patel 3/ 38 ( 4 overs) , v Rahul Chahar 0/ 47 ( 3 overs), Liam Livingstone 0/ 28 ( 3 overs)
In reply , Punjab were never really on . Opener Prabhsimran Singh out early for ( 6) . Jonny Bairstow ( 27), Rilee Rossouw played well for his power packed 61 ( 27 balls, 9 fours , 3 sixes) he could have played even big one but could not . Shashank Singh ( 37) , Jitesh Sharma ( 5), Liam Livingstone had a horror run with the bat this season out for ( 0) , Sam Curran ( 22) , Ashutosh Sharma ( 8), Harshal Patel ( 0), Arshdeep Singh ( 4) , Rahul Chahar not out 5. Punjab bowled out for 181/ 10 in 17 overs. RCB winning by emphatic 60 runs
RCB bowling : Swapnil Singh 2/ 28 ( 3 overs), Mohammed Siraj 3/ 43 ( 4 overs), Yash Dayal 0/ 22( 2 overs), Lockie Ferguson 2/ 29 ( 3 overs), Will Jacks 0/ 5 ( 1 over ), Cameron Green 0/ 16 ( 1 over) , Karn Sharma 2/ 36 ( 3 overs)
While the loss saw Punjab crash out of Tata IPL 2024 with another disappointing campaign. The scenario that has been for them in recent years . Injury to regular Skipper Shikhar Dhawan mid- way forced Sam Curran to take over and the results did not go that way . Captaincy, team combination would be a headache for the team as they head to auction next year in Tata IPL 2025.
This was a fourth successive win for RCB and it took them to 10 points, while PBKS (8) were knocked out of the playoff race as they can reach a maximum of 12 points from the remaining two games.
PBKS Impact Player: Jitesh Sharma replaces Vidwath Kaverappa
RCB Impact Player: Yash Dayal replaces Rajat Patidar
Match: IPL 2024, 58th Match
Venue: Dharamsala | Date: May 09, 2024
