Royal Challengers Bangalore were beaten by Punjab Kings by five wickets.
The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) faced the Punjab Kings in the third match of the Indian Premier League 2022. (PBKS). The new PBKS captain, Mayank Agarwal, won the toss and chose to bowl first, sending Faf du Plessis’ men in to bat.
RCB openers Faf and Anuj Rawat got their side off to a good start with the bat. With Faf stepping back, Rawat was the one who proved his class in his debut game. Before being removed by Rahul Chahar on 21 runs, he smashed two fours and a six (20). Following his ejection, Faf and Virat teamed together to put on a fantastic display.
With a half-century and a 118-run partnership with Kohli for the second wicket, Du Plessis produced a captain’s knock. The two bowlers hammered the PBKS bowlers, hitting four fours and nine sixes throughout the game. The PBKS bowlers had no idea what they were in for when Arshdeep Singh dismissed Faf for 88(57) at the start of the 18th over.
For the third wicket, Dinesh Karthik joined Virat Kohli at the crease, and the two scored 34 runs in the last two overs of the game to increase their team’s total to 205/2 after 20 overs. At 32(14) and 41(29), respectively, Karthik and Kohli were undefeated.
Avg Rcbian rn:#RCBvsPBKS pic.twitter.com/gTF1N4lrll
— Vanshh(inactive till exams ) (@VanshKansalji) March 27, 2022
The batters for PBKS changed the face of the game as the game progressed.
In pursuit of 206, the PBKS openers wreaked havoc on the field, as Mayank Agarwal and Shikhar Dhawan put up a 50-run partnership and added 64 runs in six overs of the powerplay. Faf added spin to the game in the sixth over, and it seemed to help the side, but Karthik missed a well-attempted Dhawan catch.
Wanindu Hasaranga scored the first breakthrough for his squad, dismissing Agarwal to break the first pair. Bhanuka Rajapaksa, who had gone in to face his Sri Lankan colleague, took Agarwal’s position.
Rcb everytime pic.twitter.com/PW3qnZZmq8
— Tonishark (@Tonishark3) March 27, 2022
PBKS continued to hammer the RCB bowlers even after Dhawan’s wicket following a 29-ball 43. With the bat, Rajapaksa was at his very best. He produced a rapid 22-ball 43 for his side despite losing his wicket to Mohammad Siraj, a wicket that RCB sorely needed at the time.
Siraj dismissed Indian U19 standout and IPL rookie Raj Bawa for a golden duck on the very next ball after removing Rajapaksa. After Dhawan and Rajapaksa were out, the PBKS innings faltered. PBKS’ wickets continued to tumble as they lost their fifth wicket in the shape of Liam Livingstone.
A few droplets offered PBKS some optimism, and they made the most of the additional lives. In the last four overs, Shahrukh Khan and Odean Smith, who spearheaded the PBKS innings, hammered the RCB bowlers and struck them for many boundaries, transformed the game’s complexion. In an exciting and entertaining game, they made 206 seem simple and won by five wickets for PBKS with six balls to spare.