RCB leave it to the end but get it done with a 4-wicket victory over Punjab

Bengaluru: Royal Challengers Bengaluru suffered a mid-innings wobble but showed solid nerve towards the end to down Punjab Kings by four wickets in their second IPL game here on Monday.

After their bowlers did a good job to restrict the Punjab Kings to a par score of 176/6 at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, the Royal Challengers looked on course for a routine victory as the talismanic Virat Kohli stroked a brilliant 77 off 49 balls — his 100th 50-plus score in all T20s.

In fact, at the halfway stage, RCB were causing along at 85/2 as Kohli, leading a charmed life after being dropped on 0 and 33, seemed determined to make Punjab pay.

RCB, however, suffered a massive slip-up between the 11th and 15th over as spinner Harpreet Brar (2/13 off 4 overs) and Kagiso Rabada (2/23 off 4 overs) applied the chokehold on them. During that phase, RCB just managed a mere 33 runs and lost two wickets, leaving them needing 59 off the last five overs.

That equation may not be much in T20 cricket but RCB appeared in dire straits when they lost Kohli and big-hitting Anuj Rawat in a space of three balls. With 47 needed off 21 balls, the pressure was on RCB but veteran Dinesh Karthik (28 n.o., 10b) and Mahipal Lomror (17 n.o., 8b) staged a superb counter-attack at the death as the hosts cruised home in 19.2 overs

Earlier, lead pacers Mohammed Siraj (2/26) and Yash Dayal (1/23) bowled brilliantly to restrict Punjab to a par score. The duo, who were taken to the cleaners by Chennai Super Kings in the opening game last Friday, hit the correct lengths and lines right from the start to constantly stifle the Punjab batters.

Unlike the opening game where they were guilty of bowling way short in attempt to make the full use of the new two-bouncer per over rule, they nicely mixed things up on Monday. Realising that they had little margin for error at the small venue, they either went full length or kept it just slightly short. They also were disciplined, barely offering any freebies as Punjab struggled to force the pace against them.

The pressure created by Siraj and Dayal at the start and then by Glenn Maxwell (2/29) in the middle overs was however released by Alzarri Joseph (1/43), who continued to have another bad outing.

For a second game in succession, he struggled to get his direction right and Punjab batters cashed in on his waywardness. In fact, the pacer conceded 20 runs in the final over as Punjab, who looked they end up in the 160s, managed to surge to 176.

The flourish gave Punjab bowlers the confidence who kept picking at regular intervals to ensure they were always in the game. But the brilliance of Kohli and the magic of Karthik ensured Royal Challengers kicked off their home sojourn on a victorious note.

SCORE BOARD

PUNJAB KINGS: Shikhar Dhawan c Kohli b Maxwell 45 (37b, 5x4, 1x5), Jonny Bairstow c Kohli b Siraj 8 (6b, 2x4), Prabhsimran Singh c Rawat b Maxwell 25 (17b, 2x4, 2x6), Liam Livingstone c Rawat b Joseph 17 (13b, 1x4, 1x6), Sam Curran c Rawat b Dayal 23 (17b, 3x4) , Jitesh Sharma Rawat b Siraj 27 (20b, 1x4, 2x6), Shashank Singh (not out) 21 (8b, 1x4, 2x6), Harpreet Brar (not out) 2 (2b). Extras (B-1, LB-1, W-6) 8. TOTAL (for 6 wkts, 20 overs) 176.

Fall of wickets: 1-17 (Bairstow), 2-72 (Prabhsimran), 3-98 (Livingstone), 4-98 (Dhawan), 5-150 (Curran), 6-154 (Jitesh).

Bowling: Mohammed Siraj 4-0-26-2, Yash Dayal 4-0-23-1, Alzarri Joseph 4-0-43-1, Cameron Green 2-0-19-0, Mayank Dagar 3-0-34-0, Glenn Maxwell 3-0-29-2.

ROYAL CHALLENGERS BENGALURU: Virat Kohli c Brar b Harshal 77 (49b, 11x4, 2x6), Faf du Plessis c Curran b Rabada 3 (7b), Cameron Green c Jitesh b Rabada 3 (5b), Rajat Patidar b Brar 18 (18b, 1x4, 1x6), Glenn Maxwell b Brar 3 (5b), Anuj Rawat lbw Curran 11 (14b, 1x4), Dinesh Karthik (not out) 28 (10b, 3x4, 2x6), Mahipal Lomror (IMP) (not out) 17 (8b, 2x4, 1x6). Extras (B-2, LB-9, W-7) 18. TOTAL (for 6 wkts, 19.2 overs) 178.

Fall of wickets: 1-26 (Du Plessis), 2-43 (Green), 3-86 (Patidar), 4-103 (Maxwell), 5-130 (Kohli), 6-130 (Rawat).

Bowling: Sam Curran 3-0-30-1, Arshdeep Singh (IMP) 3.2-0-40-0, Kagiso Rabada 4-0-23-2, Harpreet Brar 4-0-13-2, Harshal Patel 4-0-45-1, Rahul Chahar 1-0-16-0.

Result: RCB won by 4 wkts. PoM: Virat Kohli.

RCB’s next match: Vs KKR (March 29, Bengaluru)