Punjab Kings defeat RCB by five wickets in a high scoring match

Punjab Kings (PBKS) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by five wickets in their first match played yesterday at DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai.

Shikhar Dhawan and Mayank Agarwal both added 71 runs in 7.1 overs as the team chased 206. In his first ball of the season, Mayank was dismissed by Wanindu Hasaranga on 32(24). Punjab’s fight continued when Dhawan and Bhanuka Rajapaksa added 47 runs for the second wicket before Harshal Patel removed the Indian on 43(29). In the following delivery, Mohammed Siraj dismissed India’s U-19 star Raj Angad Bawa, who scored the same number of runs in 22 balls. The last batter to leave the field was Liam Livingstone before PBKS closed the match with an over to spare thanks to a cameo by Odean Smith. A power-hit at the death gave Punjab the edge to win the match, and he was named Player of the Match. The Royal Challengers finish on 205/2 after Faf du Plessis scores 88 off 57 as they bat first earlier in the evening. Virat Kohli provided excellent support to RCB’s skipper as the pair added 118 runs for the second wicket. He scored 41 runs off 29 deliveries unbeaten.  

Punjab has chased down a score of 200 plus with an over to spare in a remarkable chase! This is reminiscent of David Miller’s heroics against Bangalore in 2013, but this time Punjab worked together. Bangalore just can’t defend scores after having such depth in the bowling department, so it’s the same old story for them. Punjab has also completed their second-highest run chase in the Indian T20 League.