The Punjab Kings brought their A-game tonight and registered a comfortable win over Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2021. The game was on at the halfway mark after Punjab Kings scored 179 after 20 overs.

Nevertheless, it was a dreadful batting effort from RCB in the chase as they could only score 145. The skipper Virat Kohli disappointed again as he played a bizarre knock of 35 from 34 balls.

Punjab Kings outclass Royal Challengers Bangalore

The left-arm spin of Harpreet Brar did the magic in the middle overs for Punjab Kings. He dismissed Kohli and Glenn Maxwell on back to back deliveries then also dismissed Ab de Villiers. The Royal Challengers Bangalore were never in the run chase after then as Punjab Kings won by 34 runs.

In the first half skipper, KL Rahul continued his prolific form against RCB and scored an unbeaten 91 from 57 balls. Chris Gayle also batted well and scored a quickfire 48 and gave his side much needed momentum.

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Who Said What?

Eventually, a target of 180 proved to be too much for the star RCB batting. Meanwhile here’s what the captains said in the post-match presentation.

“They got off to a good start but we pulled things back somewhat after five down. Should have been chasing 160, when they were 116/5, but we gave away 25-odd runs in the end. Focused too much on what the batters were doing. We got away from our plans. We gave too many bad balls for boundaries. As batsmen we could have tried different things early on. It was tough to hit through the line. It was all about trying to get a partnership and have a strike rate of more than 110”.

“We were not able to do that as a batting unit. Just a few little tweaks we need to address going forward. There are areas we need to improve. The composition of our team is such that we give him (Patidar) the freedom to play at number 3. It’s (batting order) situational, this is a good balance for our batting line up. Rajat is a quality player, just that tonight wasn’t his night. In the end we gave away 25 runs too many. One wicket there and we could have squeezed them. We couldn’t execute our plans. Pulled few runs nicely as Harshal and Jamieson hit few runs towards the end. The margin could have been a bigger one otherwise”, said Kohli. 

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“We were preparing Brar. On a pitch like this, we felt like we needed a finger spinner who could hit hard lengths. He did exactly that and batted really well in the end as well. I am young myself, but I have been trying to speak to the boys and pass on whatever experience I have of IPL and international cricket. They are blessed with enormous talent and we have to prepare them for the situations and the pressures they’d face in the middle as the captain and the support staff. Really makes me and the support staff very happy”, said KL Rahul. 

“I hail from Moga district. I am sure the people back home would be proud and happy. I wasn’t overwhelmed when Kohli hit me because a bowler always gets a second chance to come back. My first IPL wicket was Kohli’s wicket and that was very special. It came out in a flow after that, your body opens up, you get confident and things fall in place. When I came out to bat, I had the time to wait for a couple of overs, Rahul Bhai was also talking to me about the conditions and about the shots I could play.”, said the man of the match, Harpreet Brar.