[ad_1]
In their second match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 on Monday, Royal Challengers Bengaluru conceded exactly the same number of runs as in their first game – 176. While Chennai Super Kings had completed a successful chase against them, this time it was RCB who crossed the line against Punjab Kings thanks to a Virat Kohli special.
With PBKS winning their first match of the season against Delhi Capitals, the focus was on the hosts’ recovery at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. Opting to bowl first, Mohammed Siraj (2/26) and Yash Dayal (1/23) produced outstanding spells as PBKS finished on 176/6. Kohli took over from there to score a 49-ball 77 before a final push from Dinesh Karthik and Mahipal Lomror took RCB to 178/6 in 19.2 overs. It was the sixth victory in as many games for the home team this season.
It could have been a different story for Punjab if they had grabbed an early opportunity. Sam Curran managed to get Kohli’s outside edge off the second delivery of the innings, but the ball went through the hands of Jonny Bairstow at second slip. Kohli, who made a 20-ball 21 against CSK after taking a two-month break from competitive cricket, was close to his best thereafter.
The former India and RCB captain delivered a masterclass in underhanded driving in the first half of his innings. What stood out was the way he kept advancing against the pacers to hit the ball early with momentum. Kagiso Rabada bowled an excellent opening spell and got the wickets of RCB captain Fat du Plessis and Cameron Green before Kohli got another reprieve as Rahul Chahar failed to convert a difficult chance at mid-wicket. But the 35-year-old kept trying to attack and took RCB to 85/2 in the middle of their innings.
Needing 92 to win 10 overs with eight wickets in hand, the hosts had the advantage. However, it was then that Harpreet Brar returned to the attack and played an inspired spell to bring Punjab back into the competition. The left-arm spinner removed Rajat Patidar and Glenn Maxwell (for the fourth time) to finish with figures of 2/13.
Kohli became the third player after Chris Gayle and David Warner to register 100 half-centuries in T20 cricket, but he and Anuj Rawat fell in quick succession and RCB were left for 47 off 22 balls. Even if Punjab had fancied their chances, Karthik (28* off 10) and Lomror (17* off 8) maintained their composure to seal the victory with four balls to spare.
Dayal impresses
Bengaluru has always been a high-scoring venue, with last season’s total first innings average at Chinnaswamy being 196. This time the pitch had a slightly different look, as it had patches of grass all around, with Yash Dayal making good plays. use of the hand luggage offer. The left-arm pacer conceded just 10 runs in his three overs with the new ball to help restrict PBKS to 40/1 at the end of the powerplay.
Siraj got the first breakthrough for RCB as Bairstow registered another single-digit score. The English right-hander attempted a mid-on pull and got a top edge to Virat Kohli, who surpassed Suresh Raina for the most catches (173) by an Indian in T20 cricket.
Prabhsimran Singh then joined captain Shikhar Dhawan at the crease and it was the former who helped PBKS up the ante. The duo added 53 runs before the visitors lost their next three wickets for 26 runs. Prabhsimran was killed by a Glenn Maxwell delivery that was fired before Liam Livingstone edged one from Alzarri Joseph.
But perhaps the most disappointing dismissal for the Kings was that of Dhawan (45 off 37). The left-hander never looked smooth and became Maxwell’s second victim just when he was hoping to start accelerating.
Curran, who scored a winning half-century in the previous game, and wicketkeeper-batsman Jitesh Sharma also fell into the twenties as RCB’s bowlers did well to continue contributing. It all came down to a late play by Shashank Singh that set up a challenging goal for the hosts. The right-hander hit Joseph for two sixes and a four as PBKS added 20 runs in the last over of the innings.
However, Curran admitted shortly afterwards that it was probably a slightly below average total. His assessment ultimately turned out to be accurate.
