The Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kings XI Punjab contest turned out to be a one-sided affair in Dubai on Thursday. KXIP won the game by 97 runs as RCB succumbed their first defeat of the season.
Punjab, meanwhile, bounced back in style after their unfortunate defeat in the Super Over against Delhi Capitals in their first game.
The Kings banked on an outstanding unbeaten century from KL Rahul to post a massive total before the bowlers did the trick. Young spinners Ravi Bishnoi and Murugan Ashwin shared six wickets before Mohammed Shami and Sheldon Cottrell did the job with the new ball. The game had several talking points and we choose the best five among them.
So, here are the 5 talking points from the KXIP vs RCB encounter:
1. KL Rahul’s Classy Ton in Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kings XI Punjab
KL Rahul became the first player to hit a century this season. It was his second IPL ton overall. Rahul started his innings cautiously and in the last five overs of their innings was absolutely unstoppable. He hit 26 off Dale Steyn’s 19th over which was the best moment of his innings.
He scored as many as 42 in the last 9 balls he faced. In his first 60 balls, he scored 90. He is currently the leading run-scorer with 153 runs from two matches.
2. Virat Kohli Dropping KL Rahul Twice
During another emphatic knock from KL Rahul, Virat Kohli gave KL Rahul two lives, dropping two sitters in the 16th and 17th over respectively. It was unlikely of Kohli, who is one of the best fielders of the game at present. That proved to be costly as Rahul finished on an unbeaten 132 and more importantly scoring 42 in the last 9 balls he faced.
Also read: Watch – Virat Kohli Drops Two Catches As KL Rahul Scores A Century
This was one of the key moments in the Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kings XI Punjab contest on Thursday night.
3. Dale Steyn’s wicket-less spell in Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kings XI Punjab contest
Premier RCB pacer Dale Steyn remained wicketless as he bowled an expensive spell against KXIP. He went for 57 off his four overs going at almost 15 per over. This included a 26-run over from KL Rahul. Steyn was all over the place with his pace and that he was not being able to make early breakthroughs proved costly for RCB.
For the RCB bowlers, it was a complete opposite of performance to what it was against SRH.
4. Young KXIP spinners ruling the roost
Ravi Bishnoi and Murugan Ashwin shared six wickets amongst themselves giving away just 53 runs. It was the spin twins who gave Punjab important breakthroughs and brought them back into the game. This will certainly fall among the 5 talking points from RCB vs KXIP game.
As opposite to KXIP spinners, RCB spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Washington Sundar gave away 38 runs and picked up just one wicket between themselves in six overs.
5. An overall good win for Punjab
The contest turned out to be a clinical one for the Men in Red. They were unfortunate to lose against Delhi Capitals in the Super Over. However, against RCBB they bounced back and ticked all the boxes.
KL Rahul coming back into form is a great sign for the Preity Zinta-owned franchise and keeps the team in good stead moving forward in the season.
