In the 60th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022, Punjab Kings (PBKS) defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by 54 runs at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.
After winning the toss, Faf du Plessis asked Punjab Kings to bat first. Innings started off in a tremendous fashion as both the openers, Shikhar Dhawan (21) and Jonny Bairstow (66) put up a good partnership in the powerplay for PBKS. In just 5 overs, both the batters posted 60 runs for the first wicket partnership. Even after Dhawan’s wicket, Bairstow continued to assault RCB bowlers all around the park. The Englishman who was out of form at the start of the season, struck at over 220 tonight and displayed a fine inning for which he is famous for. Liam Livingstone (70) also joined the party in the seventh over and straightaway showed his class. The right-handed batsman was dealing with boundaries which helped the Punjab based team to reach a massive score. Punjab did lose some wickets in the middle but it did not affect Livingstone’s mindset. The 28-year-old hit five fours and four sixes to take the Punjab based team to a mammoth score of 209/9 in 20 overs.
In response, RCB also started well in the powerplay but did not advance with it. Virat Kohli (20) once again gave fans a teaser of what he actually is but couldn’t continue on. Rajat Patidar (26) also looked impressive as he was hitting some boundaries in the middle overs. RCB fans were in hope for a thrilling match given that Glenn Maxwell (35) was striking well at 159. In fact, both the batsmen put up 64 runs for the fourth wicket partnership but the situation got difficult after RCB lost both of them in quick succession. No one really could take the game away from PBKS and in the end, RCB only managed to get 155/9 in 20 overs.
Though it was raining boundaries at the Brabourne Stadium, the game had wickets as well. Kagiso Rabada scalped three wickets in his quota of four overs. Rishi Dhawan and Rahul Chahar plucked two wickets each and with them, Harpreet Brar and Arshdeep Singh got one wicket each to their name.
For RCB, Harshal Patel was once again brilliant with the ball as he grabbed four wickets in the first innings. Wanindu Hasaranga also got two wickets and along with him, Glenn Maxwell and Shahbaz Ahmed got one each.
Jonny Bairstow was adjudged Man of the Match for his scintillating batting performance. Following this win, Punjab Kings are still chasing a playoff spot as they are now sixth on the table with 12 points.
Scorecard:
Punjab Kings: 209/9, Overs 20, Liam Livingstone 70, Harshal Patel 4/34
Royal Challengers Bangalore: 155/9, Overs 20, Glenn Maxwell 35, Kagiso Rabada 3/21