Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) got off to a quick start almost entirely thanks to Virat Kohli in the powerplay. Virat Kohli smashed 35 in 21 balls after being dropped off the second ball of the innings by Jonny Bairstow and RCB were 50/2 at the end of the powerplay while chasing a target of 177.
While Virat Kohli continued to bat aggressively and power Royal Challengers Bengaluru's chase, he hardly received sustained support from the other end as Kagiso Rabada and Harpreet Brar did most of the damage for the Kings in the middle overs. Eventually though, Virat Kohli himself perished after having scored 77 in 49 balls.
While the stadium fell quiet for a while after that, Dinesh Karthik and Mahipal Lomror brought Bengaluru roaring back in a match that has now turned out to be a thriller. The pair ended up seeing the hosts through to the end. Dinesh Karthik hit the winning runs with a four, finishing unbeaten on 28 off 10 balls while Lomror scored 16 in eight balls.
Earlier, Shashank Singh smashed 20 runs off the last over to push Punjab Kings' score to 176/6 in what was otherwise a rather subdued batting performance.
Yash Dayal and Mohammed Siraj were the stars for Royal Challengers Bengaluru with the ball. Yash Dayal returned figures of 1/23 while Mohammed Siraj returned 2/26. Royal Challengers Bengaluru captain Faf du Plessis won the toss and chose to bowl first.
Punjab Kings lost opener Jonny Bairstow early to Mohammed Siraj. While captain Shikhar Dhawan tried to get a move on, Royal Challengers Bengaluru did well to keep the batters in check and put pressure on Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the first 10 overs.
Shikhar Dhawan was eventually dismissed for 44runs off 37balls while the dangerous Liam Livingstone fell for just 17 runs in 13 balls. Shashank Singh then came in and made the difference in the last over. (21 off eight balls)
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