Virat Kohli's mighty 92, bowlers' clinical display help RCB beat PBKS by 60 runs to keep playoff hopes alive

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) registered their fourth win in a row to somehow stay alive in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 playoff race. RCB beat Punjab Kings (PBKS) by a comfortable margin of 60 runs to register their fifth win of the tournament from 12 games. The big win also helped them better their net run rate (NRR). After Virat Kohli's 47-ball 92, Rajat Patidar's quickfire half-century and Cameron Green's 27-ball 46 to post 241/7 on the board, RCB bowlers were clinical to bowl out PBKS in 17 overs. The big loss also meant that PBKS join Mumbai Indians (MI) as the second team to be eliminated from playoff race.
 

Too many dropped catches

Earlier, Sam Curran won the toss and chose to bench Kagiso Rabada for Liam Livingstone. Vidwath Kaverappa got the better of Kohli but his catch was dropped by Ashutosh Sharma. Faf du Plessis hit a couple of boundaries before becoming Kaverappa's maiden IPL wicket. In the same over, Kohli's catch was dropped by Rilee Rossouw. Will Jacks took on Curran and hit the first six of the innings. In his next over, Kaverappa dismissed Jacks. He would have gotten another wicket but Harshal Patel dropped Rajat Patidar's catch. Harshal was introduced into the attack and Patidar hit him for three fours. RCB were 56/2 after powerplay overs.
 

Patidar’s fiery fifty

In Kaverappa's fourth over, Patidar and Kohli hit one six each. Rahul Chahar was introduced into the attack and Patidar smoked him for two sixes. On the next ball, Jonny Bairstow dropped the catch. Patidar rubbed salt on Chahar's wounds with another six. Arshdeep Singh came back into the attack. Patidar hit him for a six to get RCB past 100-run mark. In the next over, he reached his half-century with a six. He took just 21 balls. But Curran ended his stay at the crease in the same over. He scored 55 runs from 23 balls including three fours and six sixes. 

Kohli goes berserk

After the rain interruption, Kohli reached his half-century in 32 balls. Kohli accelerated and hit Livingstone for a six. In the next over, he hit Curran for two sixes. Cameron Green joined Kohli and hit Harshal for a six. RCB got to 200 in the 17th over. Arshdeep's third over was expensive too. Kohli hit him for a six. Next ball, he was cought by Rossouw. His 47-ball 92 was laced with seven fours and six sixes. Dinesh Karthik ended the over with a six. In the penultimate over, Chahar conceded 21 runs including a six off Karthik's bat. Harshal bowled an exceptional final over dismissing Karthik, Mahipal Lomror and Green. Karthik contributed with seven-ball 18 whereas Green scored 46 runs from 27 balls. RCB posted 241/7 on the board. 
 

Fiery start to run chase

In the run chase, Prabhsimran Singh got out lbw to left-arm spinner Swapnil Singh. Rossouw got off the mark with two consecutive fours. Rossouw got an early reprieve as Lomror dropped his catch off Yash Dayal's first over. In the next over, Rossouw hit Mohammed Siraj for three fours and a six. Jonny Bairstow targetted Dayal in the next over hitting him for a six and a four. In the sixth over, Bairstow hit two fours before Lockie Ferguson dismissed him. He scored 27 runs from 16 balls. PBKS were 75/2 after powerplay overs. 
 

Rossouw, Shashank fail to carry on

Rossouw continued to hit big and completed his fifty with a six off just 21 balls. In the next over, he targetted Karn Sharma. However, he got injured trying to reverse-sweep. After getting medical attention, he got out next ball. The South African batter scored 61 runs from 27 balls. Shashank Singh continued his form and found boundaries. In Karn's next over, Jitesh Sharma got bowled. Livingstone failed to make a mark and got out for a two-ball duck to Swapnil. In the 14th over, PBKS suffered a huge blow as Shashank got run out by Kohli's direct hit. He scored 37 runs from 19 balls. 
 

Bowled out too early

Ashutosh hit Siraj for a six but could not continue the big-hitting. He got out lbw to Siraj. Ferguson justified his selection too and knocked over Curran. The captain scored 22 runs from 16 balls. In the 17th over, Siraj struck twice to bowl out PBKS for 181. The hosts lost the match by 60 runs.
 

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