Punjab Kings managed to clinch a much-needed victory against Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2021 on Friday. Batting exploits from Chris Gayle and KL Rahul, and an all-round show from Harpreet Brar made sure that RCB suffered a defeat by 34 runs. Punjab Kings move fifth in the points table after collecting the third win in IPL 2021.
After winning the toss, RCB asked Punjab Kings to bat first as chasing has been favourable on this pitch due to the presence of dew later in the innings. Punjab once again had a poor start to the innings as Prabhsimran Singh was dismissed early in the innings by Kyle Jamieson.
Chris Gayle and KL Rahul stitched a good partnership for the second wicket to provide impetus to Punjab’s innings. Gayle managed to smash five boundaries in the sixth over against Jamieson. Just when it felt like Punjab was on course for 200, a mini-collapse meant that they were reduced to 119/5. Rahul and Harpreet Brar managed to deliver in the final few overs to get Punjab to an extremely competitive total of 179/5. Rahul is now an orange cap holder after scoring 91 runs in 57 deliveries.
RCB struggled from the word go in the chase as Riley Meredith dismissed Devdutt Padikkal in the third over. Virat Kohli and Rajat Patidar started the rebuild but they were way behind the asking run rate. The destiny of the game was decided in the 11th over as Harpreet Brar delivered a double-wicket maiden. His wickets included Virat Kohli and Glenn Maxwell.
Brar also managed to dismiss AB de Villiers to seal the game for Punjab. There was some late hitting from Jamieson and Harshal Patel, but RCB suffered a crushing defeat. Courtesy of this defeat RCB’s net run rate went below zero, but they remain third in the table. Meanwhile, this victory makes sure that Punjab remains in the hunt for a place in the top four.
Scorecard
Punjab Kings: 179/5 (KL Rahul 91(57), Chris Gayle 46(24), Kyle Jamieson (2/32), Shahbaz Ahmed (1/11))
Royal Challengers Bangalore: 145/8 (Virat Kohli 35(34), Harshal Patel 31(13), Harpreet Brar (3/19), Ravi Bishnoi (2/17))