Kohli takes RCB over the line against spirited Punjab Kings

Royal Challengers Bengaluru 178 for 6 (Kohli 77, Karthik 28*, Brar 2-13, Rabada 2-23) beat Punjab Kings 176 for 6 (Dhawan 45, Jitesh 27, Siraj 2-26, Maxwell 2-29) by four wickets

Bengaluru: Virat Kohli's authoritative 77(49) helped Royal Challengers Bengaluru register their first win of the TATA IPL 2024 as they beat Punjab Kings by wickets at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

Kohli, who was dropped off the second ball of the innings, made PBKS pay with some delightful strokeplay to set the platform. Dinesh Karthik (28* off 10) and Impact Player Mahipal Lomror (17* off 8) then provided the final flourish, stitching an unbeaten 48-run stand off 18 balls, to help RCB chased down 177 in the final over.

Earlier, a disciplined bowling display had helped the home side restrict PBKS to 176/6.

Chasing 177, RCB got off to a fortuitous start as Jonny Bairstow dropped Virat Kohli at slip off the second ball of the innings, off Curran. Kohli then added salt to the wounds by cracking three fours in the over to make it 16 off the first over.


Kohli then showcased his range with some delightful shots, but RCB lost two inside the Powerplay with Kagiso Rabada sending back captain Faf du Plessis and Cameron Green. RCB reached 50/2 at the end of the Powerplay with 35 of them scored by Kohli.

PBKS pulled things back with some disciplined bowling. Kohli and Patidar hit a six each off Chahar to up the ante. Kohli brought up his fifty off 31 balls but then Patidar departed in the next over, looking to accelerate, as he was cleaned up by Harpreet Brar.

Kohli cracked a six and a four off Harshal to bring 15 runs off the 12th over, but Brar struck another crucial blow to dismiss Maxwell in the next over. Brar and Rabada finished off with fantastic spells of 2/13 and 2/23, respectively, as PBKS built pressure in the middle overs.

With 59 needed off 30, Kohli smashed a couple of powerful fours off Harshal, but the PBKS pacer bounced back to have Kohli caught at third man off the last ball of the over to provide a seminal moment in the game. One brought two as Curran trapped Anuj Rawat LBW.

RCB then sent Mahipal Lomror as their Impact Player, replacing Yash Dayal. With 47 needed off 22, Lomror and Karthik smashed 37 off the next 16 balls to bring the equation down to 10 needed off the last over.

Karthik started off the final over in style, scooping the first ball of the final over from Arshdeep for a six over fine leg. Under pressure, Arshdeep bowled a WIDE next ball. With 3 needed off 5, Karthik smashed one down the ground for a four to finish it off in style.

Source-ipl20.com