Faf du Plessis and Mohammed Siraj led RCB’s charge as Virat Kohli made a winning return to captaincy in yesterday’s match against Punjab Kings at the IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali.
IPL 2023 Yesterday Match Result PBKS vs RCB: Siraj’s Phenomenal Spell Gets Bangalore Over the Line
RCB’s bowlers dismantled PBKS’ top order, taking four wickets in the powerplay while defending a respectable total of 175. Mohammed Siraj struck first, dismissing Atharva Taide, and Wanindu Hasaranga dismissed Matt Short in the third over. Siraj then dismissed Liam Livingstone for 2 in the fourth over of the game.
With a total of 49/4 at the end of the powerplay, Punjab had lost their top order. Punjab stand-in captain Sam Curran and Prabh simran Singh then led their team from the front, piling singles and boundaries at regular intervals. Prabhsimran smashed Hasaranga for 14 runs in the game’s ninth over, with the help of two sixes.
Curran was run out by Hasaranga in the 10th over of the game after scoring 10 runs. Wayne Parnell joined the wicket-taking party in the 12th over of the game, dismissing well-established batter Prabhsimran for 46. Shahrukh Khan, the right-handed batter, came out to bat and smacked a six off Parnell’s delivery.
However, Shahrukh’s stay at the crease was cut short when Hasaranga bowled him after scoring 7. Jitesh Sharma opened his hands and slammed Hasaranga for 11 runs in the 15th over, slamming a stunning maximum straight down the ground. Jitesh smoked Vijaykumar Vyshak for 13 runs in the 16th over of the game, with one four and one 83-metre maximum that he slammed back over the bowler’s head.
The RCB had a great opportunity to dismiss dangerous batter Jitesh, but Kohli dropped the catch at long-on. It didn’t take long for the RCB bowlers to create another opportunity, as Siraj dismissed Harpreet Brar for 13 runs in the 18th over. Siraj then produced a stunning delivery in the same over to dismiss new batter Nathan Ellis for 1. Harshal Patel dismissed Jitesh Sharma in the penultimate over and bundled out PBKS for 150 to secure a 24-run victory.
Earlier, RCB scored 174/4 against PBKS thanks to a 137-run opening stand between Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis. RCB got off to a flying start, scoring 137 runs without losing a wicket. However, after the 17th over, they lost two big wickets in quick succession: Virat Kohli and the dasher Glenn Maxwell. Following that, RCB lost momentum and were unable to increase their scoring rate at the end of their innings.
Left-armer Harpreet Brar was the pick of the Punjab Kings bowlers, taking two wickets for 31 runs, while pacers Arshdeep Singh and Nathan Ellis each took one. However, Sam Curran and Rahul Chahal reintroduced Punjab into the game by bowling tight lines and lengths and denying RCB easy runs.