Venkatesh Iyer stood up under pressure in the absence of Rajat Patidar, the regular captain and shone through with an unbeaten 73 as RCB upstaged a spirited PBKS side by 23 runs to go to 18 points and qualify for the playoffs. While Punjab have now lost 6 games in a row in a shocking turn of events. Put into bat first, RCB rode on Venkatesh Iyer‘s unbeaten 73 and Virat Kohli’s 58 off 37 balls to power to 222/4 in 20 overs. Credit should also be given to Devdutt Padikkal for his 45 off 25 balls, while Tim David made 28 off 12 balls.
Chasing 223 for the win, PBKS lost three early wickets of the two openers and Shreyas Iyer, the captain. Cooper Connolly made 37 off 22 balls while Shedge made 35 off 22 balls. Marcus Stoinis made 37 off 25 balls while Shashank Singh made a quickfire 56 off 27 balls. But RCB held their nerves, with Impact Player Rasikh Salam picking up 3 crucial wickets and Bhuvneshwar Kumar picking up 2 wickets. Josh Hazlewood bowled well under pressure as RCB won by 23 runs to put PBKS on the brink of elimination.
Venkatesh Iyer & Virat Kohli power RCB to 222/4 in 20 overs.Â
Put into bat first, Jacob Bethell and Virat Kohli came out to open for RCB, while Arshdeep Singh started the proceedings for PBKS. Bethell got a couple of boundaries away early, but the opening partnership did not flourish for RCB. They put on 21 for the first wicket before Bethell fell for 11 off 7 balls with 2 fours to his name to comeback man Harpreet Brar. Devdutt Padikkal came out to bat next and got off the mark with a maximum over covers.
Virat Kohli looked to be at his best, while Padikkal also looked fluent. The duo took the attack to the Punjab bowlers and forged an important partnership. RCB were 61/1 in 6 overs of power play. They turned it on after the power play as Yuzvendra Chahal was hit for 21 runs in his opening over he bowled. Padikkal looked good out there while Kohli went about his business, not bothered about the run rate. The duo added a vital 76 runs for the second wicket before Padikkal fell for 45 off 25 balls with 4 fours and 3 sixes to his name to Harpreet Brar. Venkatesh Iyer came out to bat next.
Venkatesh took his time settling in as Virat controlled the tempo of the match. RCB were 101/2 in 10 overs at the halfway stage of the game. RCB maintained a nice tempo throughout. Iyer grew in confidence even as Virat completed yet another half-century in IPL and got past 500 runs this season. The duo added exactly 60 runs for the third wicket before Virat, the set batter, fell for 58 off 37 balls with 4 fours and 3 sixes to his name to Yuzvendra Chahal. RCB were 157/3 at this stage after 15 overs when Tim David came out to bat next.
Venkatesh Iyer opened up after the dismissal of Kohli and became the dominant partner. Venkatesh too continued his merry ways and completed his first fifty in RCB colours. He carried on to bat deep. David made a quick cameo as well and kept the tempo going. The duo added 65 runs off the last 30 balls. Tim David fell off the last ball of the innings for 28 off 12 balls with 2 fours and 2 sixes to his name to Arshdeep Singh. Venkatesh remained unbeaten on 73 off 40 balls with 8 fours and 4 sixes to his name as RCB finished with 222/4 in 20 overs. 7 extras given by the fielding side.
Harpreet Brar was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2/35 in 4 overs. Arshdeep Singh finished with 1/43 in 4 overs. Yuzvendra Chahal finished with 1/42 in 3 overs. Azmatullah Omarzai finished with 0/38 in 4 overs. Lockie Ferguson finished with 0/43 in 3 overs. Shashank Singh finished with 0/20 in 2 overs. This meant that for PBKS to get back to winning ways, they needed 223 runs to win the contest in 20 overs.
Rasikh Salam’s 3-wicket haul helps RCB hold their nerves and qualify for the playoffs
Chasing a mammoth 223 for the win, Priyansh Arya and keeper batter Prabhsimran Singh came out to bat for PBKS while Bhuvneshwar Kumar had the ball in hand for RCB. RCB got off to the perfect start as Bhuvneshwar removed Priyansh Arya for 1 off 3 balls, with Romario Shepherd taking the catch. Cooper Connolly came out to bat next and came quickly off the blocks. Prabhsimran and Connolly tried to forge some sort of a partnership and added 17 runs for the second wicket before the keeper batter Singh fell for 2 off 5 balls to that man Kumar again.
Captain Shreyas Iyer came out to bat next. Just one run was added to the tally before Shreyas came, saw and left the field for 1 off 3 balls to Impact Player Rasikh Salam as PBKS were rocked early at 19/3 in 3.2 overs. Suryansh Shedge came out to bat next. The duo of Connolly and Shedge had no choice but to counter-attack for the side to make a match out of it, and they did so to a degree, trying to put RCB under pressure. They tried to forge a partnership as the power play score was 49/3 in 6 overs for the Kings.
The duo carried on with the partnership in the middle phase of the game. The duo added an important 43-run stand for the 4th wicket before Connolly fell 37 off 22 balls with 3 fours and 3 sixes to his name to Romario Shepherd. Impact Player Marcus Stoinis came out to bat next at 6. Shedge and Stoinis got together and tried to forge some sort of partnership. They tried to come back in the middle overs phase. They added 31 runs for the 5th wicket before Shedge fell for 35 off 22 balls with 2 fours and 2 sixes to his name to Suyash Sharma as Kohli took a brilliant catch.
Shashank Singh came out to bat with the team in serious trouble. What followed next for the few overs was the Shashank Singh show. He was quick off the blocks and overshadowed Stoinis. Stoinis got a lifeline when Jacob Bethell dropped the catch off him off Krunal Pandya. Shashank was the danger man, and he and Stoinis took the attack to bring PBKS back in the game.
They aced the middle phase and took the game deep. Both complemented each other well, with Shashank being the chief contributor in this partnership. They took the score to 160/5 in 16 overs and needed 72 off 24 balls, and the time-out was taken. Thereafter, a wicket fell after the break as the 67-run stand was broken. Stoinis, the impact player, fell for 37 off 25 balls with 5 fours to his name to Josh Hazlewood off a dipping full toss. Stoinis reviewed, and the umpire’s call went the bowler’s way.
Azmatullah Omarzai came out to bat next and kept the hope going, but it was too much to ask at this stage. Omarzai played his shots while Shashank was in the mood to score the runs today. The duo added 34 runs for the 7th wicket before the last recognised batter, Shashank, fell for a well-made 56 off 27 balls with 4 fours and 4 sixes to his name, to Salam. Harpreet Brar came out to bat next and got a boundary away.
5 runs were added to the tally for the 8th wicket before Omarzai fell off the final ball of the match for 14 off 10 balls with one four and one six to his name to Salam, who had two in the over. Brar remained unbeaten on 5 off 3 balls with one four to his name as PBKS finished with 199/8 in 20 overs. 12 extras conceded by RCB bowlers.
Impact Player Rasikh Salam was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3/36 in 4 overs. Bhuvneshwar Kumar finished with 2/38 in 4 overs. Josh Hazlewood came good when it mattered and finished with 1/36 in 4 overs. Romario Shepherd finished with 1/8 in 1 over. Suyash Sharma finished with 1/50 in 4 overs. Krunal Pandya finished with 0/27 in 3 overs. So, RCB wins the match by 23 runs and stays at the top with 18 points and is the first team to qualify for the playoffs. Venkatesh Iyer was awarded the Player of the Match.
What Lies Ahead
So, RCB are through to the playoffs with this win, the first team to officially get there. They will next face in their last league game against SRH in Hyderabad on Friday night. While PBKS are hanging by a thread after their 6th straight loss. They have LSG on Saturday night in Lucknow. The evening game is critical tonight as DC hosts RR in New Delhi. DC, with their slim mathematical hopes alive, while RR now has a good chance to qualify with destiny in their own hands.
Let’s see how the evening match shapes up between these two teams.
Also Read:Â PBKS VS RCB: PBKS Aims To Return To Winning Ways In Must-Win Clash.