Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) displayed an all-round show on Thursday afternoon in Mohali to register a brilliant win over hosts Punjab Kings. RCB won the contest by 24 runs to register their third win of the season and jumped to fourth spot in the IPL 2023 Points Table. At the same time, PBKS have slipped to seventh spot from fifth as a as result of their loss. The match saw two fine knocks from Kohli and Du Plessis. Kohli led the side as Du Plessis was unfit to take the field. The South African batter however did bat in the gam, striking 84 off 56 balls which included 5 fours and sixes each. Kohli struck a gritty 59 off 47 deliveries as he played the anchor role. Kohli and Du Plessis’ opening pair put on 137 for the first wicket but after they fell, the innings got derailed and all that Bangalore could manage was 174 for 4 in 20 overs.
Punjab batting self-exploded
Chasing this total turned out to be too big a task for Punjab Kings who were reduced to 43 for 4 inside powerplay. It was all thanks to a fiery opening spell of Mohammed Siraj who eventually finished with 4 wickets in the game. Siraj dismissed Atharva Taide to begin his destruction with the ball before he sent back Liam Livingstone for 2 to break the back of the PBKS batting. Siraj was as good with old ball as he was with the new. He dis missed Harpreet Brar and Nathan Ellis in the 18th over of the innings. This was a time when PBKS had 3 wickets and 18 balls in hand to make 30 runs for a win. Jitesh Sharma, who made 41 off 27 balls was still in. But with Brar and Nathan back to the hut, Jitesh knew the task had become slightly bigger now and he too perished in the 19th over of the innings, handing a win to RCB.
A ‘Preity’ sight as Kohli meets Zinta
After the match, the PBKS co-owner Preity Zinta, who is always there at PCA in Mohali to cheer for her team, went down the stairs to be with the players and over there she met RCB skipper Faf du Plessis and the stand-in captain for this match Virat Kohli. Preity and Zinta looked engrossed in a fun conversation and shared a laugh before Faf joined in. Watch the conversation below.
Virat & Faf meeting Preity Zinta post match_ pic.twitter.com/4SI5iH1YFv
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Punjab and RCB’s next match?
Punjab next play Mumbai Indians in an away game at Wankhede stadium on April 22. They will hope their captain Shikhar Dhawan is fit for the game. RCB will play another afternoon match of Sunday double header in Bengaluru vs Rajasthan Royals.
