Achi news desk-
RCB beat PBKS by 4 wickets in Bengaluru
For those left dejected with Kohli’s dismissal on 77, Karthik’s 10-ball 28 lifted their spirits as RCB registered a stunning 4-wicket win to claim their first points this season.
Virat Kohli laying the foundation, the middle order batsmen chipping in and Dinesh Karthik doing the finishing moves – seems like the good old RCB days. All these turned into reality on Monday night when Royal Challengers Bengaluru were chasing 177 against Punjab Kings in match number 2 of the Indian Premier League (IPL). 6 at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. For those left dejected with Kohli’s dismissal on 77, Karthik’s 10-ball 28 lifted their spirits as RCB registered a stunning 4-wicket win to claim their first points this season.
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Kohli looked red-hot when he stepped out to bat in a packed Chinnaswamy. After being dropped for a zero, he collected 16 runs off the opening over and then kept the scoreboard ticking with his artistic stroke play, taking the PBKS bowlers to the cleaners in advance. The former RCB captain notched his first fifty of the season off just 31 deliveries, completing a record 100 fifty-plus scores in the shortest format of the game.
The likes of Glenn Maxwell and Rajat Patidar continued to remain silent but hardly anyone paid attention to those dismissals as Kohli was on song. His batting was poetry in motion, as fearless as ever. But the 16 cameed over the only Odyssey of Kohli ended when his shot off Harshal Patel’s slower ball at off stump failed to generate enough power and distance to clear Brar at deep third man.
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RCB needed 47 off 24 balls from that point Dinesh Karthik (28 not out off 10 balls) and ‘Impact Player’ Mahipal Lomror (17 not out, 8 balls) carried them past the rope with a smart cricket. Karthik’s team’s designated finisher showed that he can switch seamlessly from mic to willow as he bowled Harshal Patel and Arshdeep Singh with minimal fuss to finish in style.
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Earlier, skipper Shikhar Dhawan’s pragmatism was the foundation on which Punjab Kings built their 176 for six. Dhawan (45, 37b), Jitesh Sharma (27, 20b) and Prabhsimran Singh (25, 17b) were the main contributors for the Kings after RCB opted to bowl first. For the hosts, Mohammed Siraj and Maxwell took two wickets each. Indeed, the RCB bowlers, especially the impressive left-arm seamer Yash Dayal (1/23), did well to tie him down with deliveries that whizzed at him from slightly short lengths.
(With Agency Inputs)
