In the 58th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) beat Punjab Kings (PBKS) by 60 runs at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala.
PBKS skipper Sam Curran won the toss and asked RCB to bat first. The visiting unit lost its skipper Faf du Plessis (9) early in the powerplay but his opening partner Virat Kohli (92) continued his fine form, slamming another fifty, which included seven fours and six sixes. Despite having the game stopped for a while due to hailstorm, King Kohli played at a strike rate of 195.74, slashing all his critics today. Along with Kohli, Rajat Patidar (55) also scored a quickfire fifty at a strike rate of 239.13. Both batters added 76 runs for the third wicket partnership. Furthermore, VK also had an excellent partnership of 92 runs with Cameron Green (46). The Aussie batter batted till the last ball and helped RCB to reach a massive score of 241/7 in 20 overs.
In the chase, Jonny Bairstow (27) got a decent start but couldn’t bat long. Playing at a strike rate of over 220, Rilee Rossouw (61) played an exceptional knock for the home team, smacking nine fours and three sixes. The southpaw batter was striking the ball cleanly before getting injured, after which he miscued one to long on. Shashank Singh (37) continued the proceedings for a while but was run out by the current orange cap holder. Everything went downhill from here on for the home side and eventually, the unit got all out for 181 runs in 17 overs.
While defending, Mohammed Siraj scalped three wickets, while two wickets each were grabbed by Swapnil Singh, Lockie Ferguson and Karn Sharma. Though Sharma conceded 36 runs in three overs, he also picked important wickets of Rossouw and Jitesh Sharma.
Harshal Patel did an excellent job with the ball, picking up three wickets at an economy rate of 9.5. Notably, he just gave three runs in the last over. Vidhwath Kaverappa also got two wickets, while one wicket each was also taken by Arshdeep Singh and Sam Curran.
Virat Kohli was adjudged Player of the Match for his outstanding batting show. Following this result, RCB now have 10 points and are still in hunt for the playoffs.
Scorecard:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: 241/7, Overs 20, Virat Kohli 92, Harshal Patel 3/38
Punjab Kings: 181/10, Overs 17, Rilee Rossouw 61, Mohammed Siraj 3/48