Royal Challengers Bangalore will feel hard done by after failing to defend 205 as Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Odean Smith and Shikhar Dhawan powered Punjab Kings to a 5-wicket victory. Earlier, Faf du Plessis hammered 57-ball 88 to help RCB post 205.
Mohammed Siraj was the hero and the villain of the story as he brought RCB back with a twin strike to remove Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Raja Bawa but it was the 18th over where he gave away 25 runs that turned the match upside down.
Earlier, Faf du Plessis began the post-Virat Kohli era in style. He swapped the yellow shirt for red but he continued the same touch. With a 57-ball 88, he set the platform sharing a century partnership with Virat Kohli, who scored an impressive 41 off 29. But it was Dinesh Karthik’s 32 off 14 that saw RCB post 205/2 after Mayank Agarwal opted to bowl first.
began at RCB in style with Faf Du Plessis setting the stage with a fantastic 88. Virat Kohli and Dinesh Karthik with 41 and 32 aided him in the cause as RCB set a mammoth 206 run target for Punjab Kings at the DY Patil Stadium.
However, Punjab Kings made the best work of the DY Patil Stadium pitch. Shikhar Dhawan and Mayank Agarwal put PBKS on course with a 63-run opening stand. After Mayank was dismissed, Dhawan and Bhanuka Rajapaksa continued ticking the scorecard at a good pace. Their 47-runs stand of just 25 balls did the trick. Rajapaksa scored 43 off 22 while Dhawan scored 43 off 29.
While Mohammed Siraj’s twin strike did bring RCB back in the game, Shahrukh Khan and Odean Smith had other ideas. In the 18th over, Shahrukh and Odean hammered 25 runs off Mohd Siraj to end the game for RCB. Odean Smith remained unbeaten on 25 off 8 while Shahrukh scored 24 off 20 to see off a mediocre RCB bowling attack
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