Virat Kohli was named the player of the match for his unbeaten knock of 73 runs. The former RCB skipper once again orchestrated a chase for his team in white-ball cricket. In his 54-ball stay, Kohli smashed seven fours and a six. While he played with a strike rate of only 135, Kohli played a great second fiddle to Padikkal, who played a hard-hitting knock.
Virat Kohli once again showed why he is known as the master of chases. The former RCB skipper scored yet another half-century and created his by becoming the batter with the most fifty-plus scores in the history of the IPL. Kohli remained unbeaten and scored 73 runs in 54 balls, hitting seven fours and a solitary six.
Devdutt Padikkal played a match-winning knock in the second innings, helping RCB chase down the total with ease. Even though the left-handed batter was dismissed before the winning runs were hit, Padikkal sealed the win with his knock. In his 35-ball stay, Padikkal smashed five fours and four sixes. His strike rate of 174.29 allowed Kohli to take his time and build his innings.
Krunal Pandya has been on song for RCB in their away games. He continued his fine form today against the Punjab Kings in New Chandigarh. The left-arm spinner picked up two wickets in his quota of four overs. He dismissed both the opening batters who were looking in great touch inside the power play. Pandya dismissed Priyansh Arya inside the first six overs before he dismissed Prabhsimran Singh on the first ball of the seventh over.
Suyash Sharma, too, like his bowling partner, created a huge impact in the game. The leg-spinner picked up two wickets while giving away only 27 runs in his spell. Suyash dismissed Josh Inglis in the 14th over, who was looking a bit dangerous in the couple of overs prior to his dismissal. In the same over, Marcus Stoinis too was dismissed by the leg spinner.
The first innings could be divided into two parts. The first six overs were dominated by the hosts. The two opening batters, Prabhsimran Singh and Priyansh Arya, played with positive intent in the power play. It looked like the pitch slowed down, and the spinners made hay of the helpful conditions.
Krunal Pandya and Suyash Sharma picked up two wickets each in their quota of four overs. Both spinners bowled economically as well, giving only 51 runs in their eight overs. At the fag end of the first innings, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood put on a masterclass of death bowling. The two experienced pacers conceded only a single boundary in the last four overs while giving away only 28 runs in the last 24 balls.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru batters, Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal, put on a great show while chasing down 158 runs in the second innings. The two batters played with great control and still scored at a fairly quick clip. Padikkal, coming into this season, had a reputation for playing slowly, but the left-handed batter, after playing a few great knocks already in IPL 2025, scored 61 runs in only 35 balls. His knock allowed Virat Kohli to get into his groove and then seal the victory. Unlike Padikkal, Virat remained unbeaten and scored 73 runs in 54 balls.
For the Punjab Kings, in spite of dismissing Phil Salt in the first over itself, they could not capitalise and conceded a lot of runs against Padikkal and Kohli. However, it was always going to be difficult for them to save this total against the likes of Virat, who feasts on these types of totals.
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