Kings XI Punjab beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by a big margin of 97 runs after the Virat Kohli-led side were bundled out for 109 chasing 207 for victory. Thus RCB succumbed to their first defeat of the season after winning the first game against SRH. Meanwhile, KXIP registered the first win of their IPL 2020 campaign. The KXIP vs RCB contest turned out to be a one-sided affair at last.
Kings XI Punjab scored a mammoth 206/3 on the back of KL Rahul’s unbeaten ton. He scored 132 off 69 deliveries hitting 14 fours and seven sixes in his knock. He is currently the orange cap holder in the tournament. Rahul formed three key 50-run partnerships during with knock with Mayank Agarwal (26), Nicholas Pooran (17) and Karun Nair (15) to help Punjab to post a total over 200.
At one point Punjab were 128 for 3 in the 16th over after Glenn Maxwell’s dismissal. It was then that KL Rahul pressed the accelerator in the KXIP vs RCB contest. Punjab scored 78 runs in the last almost five overs.
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KXIP vs RCB: Rahul Ton Decimates Opposition
Rahul took a special liking in the last three overs as he hit the likes of Steyn, Saini and Dube all-around the Dubai cricket stadium. He took 26 and 24 off the last two overs in the Punjab innings. He also became the proud owner of the highest score by an Indian in the IPL surpassing Rishabh Pant’s 128 in 2018.
Punjab’s effort with the bat was backed by a good bowling effort by their bowlers. Young leg spinner Ravi Bishnoi and Murugan Ashwin took six wickets together to dismantle the RCB batting line-up.
RCB, in their chase of 207, lost wickets right from the start. Devdutt Padikkal after a promising IPL debut against SRH was dismissed for just one. RCB skipper Virat Kohli coming in with a mountain to climb in the KXIP vs RC contest was dismissed early for just 1 off 5 balls.
The dismissal of Kohli meant that RCB was always behind the asking rate even with A De Villiers and Aaron Finch at the wicket. the overseas pair for RCB tried rebuilding the innings by adding a 49-run stand before Finch was dismissed. De Villiers followed him soon and RCB’s chances of winning the game was done and dusted.
Also Read: If We Had Restricted Them Under 180, It Would Be A Different Game – Virat Kohli
Banglore Fall Short By 97 Runs
Bangalore ultimately fell short by 97 runs and KL for his unbeaten ton was awarded the Man of the Match. KXIP, courtesy their big win is sitting at the top of the table with two points from two games, while RCB is placed sixth at the moment. Its still early days in the tournament and the points table is expected to change drastically as the season moves forward.
RCB will face Mumbai Indians in Dubai on Monday, while KXIP travel to Sharjah to play the Rajasthan Royals on Sunday.
