Virat Kohli’s brilliant half-century and Dinesh Karthik’s power-hitting at the back end helped Royal Challengers Bengaluru upset the Punjab Kings.
Chasing a 177-run goal, RCB lost captain Faf du Plessis and Cameron Green to Kasigo Rabada in the first few overs. However, star batters Virat Kohli and Dinesh Karthik led the RCB to a four-wicket victory over the Punjab Kings at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Monday.
Kohli scored 77 unbroken runs, while Dinesh Karthik stood to the end, scoring *28 runs and leading RCB to victory in their first home game. Among other things, Kohli became the first Indian to score 50 plus 100 in T20s.
For Punjab, Kasigo Rabada and Harpreet Brar both grabbed two wickets, while Harshal Patel and Sam Curran each took one.
Earlier on Monday, Punjab Kings finished with an average score of 176/6 after 20 overs, thanks to excellent spells from RCB bowlers Glenn Maxwell and Yash Dayal, who restricted PBKS batsmen. Shikhar Dhawan’s 45 and Shashank’s powerful finish gave Punjab bowlers enough runs to defend.
Faf du Plessis won the toss, and the Royal Challengers will chase on the pitch at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. The pitch is favorable to hitters, and the Shikhar Dhawan-led PBKS will want to put up a large score against the hosts.
Virat Kohli is expected to continue what he started against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Friday, after missing his 50 in the IPL 2024 opener in Chennai. The Punjab Kings captain will try to capitalize on his team’s strong confidence following a win over the Delhi Capitals (DC).
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will face Punjab Kings (PBKS) in their second encounter of the tournament. The RCB, coached by Faf du Plessis, lost their first encounter to the Chennai Super Kings (CSK). So, this is their chance to earn their first points and climb up the scoring table. As of today, RCB is ranked ninth with a Net Run Rate (NRR) of -0.799.
