Picture Credit: BCCI/IPL
The Punjab Kings registered a resounding 54-run victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. Punjab started off strong as Jonny Bairstow scored a scintillating 66 in just 27 balls along with fellow Brit Liam Livingstone who put up 70 runs in 42 balls.
Then in the second innings, RCB had a mediocre batting display as only one batter scored over 30 runs. For PBKS, Kagiso Rabada had an incredible bowling performance where he picked three wickets in four overs while giving away just 21 runs.
Changes in the points table
After the 60th match of the IPL, Punjab Kings are sixth on the table with 12 points from 12 games. They also have a net run rate of +0.023. Whereas, the Royal Challengers Bangalore are fourth on the table with 14 points from 13 games with a net run rate of -0.323.
Today’s matchup
In Saturday’s main event, the Kolkata Knight Riders will take on the Sunrisers Hyderabad at the MCA Stadium in Pune. Both teams have played each other once where KKR suffered a seven-wicket thumping as Rahul Tripathi smashed 71 runs in 37 balls alongside Aiden Markram’s 68 in 36 balls.
What did the captains say?
Winning captain Mayank Agarwal praised his team for an incredible display and said, “We were brilliant with the bat. Wicket was holding up a bit. The way Jonny and Livi batted, was amazing. We haven't changed a lot to be honest, just about understanding few situations, understanding the wicket. Have to be adaptable and flexible which we have been, which is nice. Can't be too defensive with the ball. If batsman get going, it doesn't matter, the boundaries don't matter these days.”
“Two points the most crucial thing for us. As long as the job gets done, I'm fine batting at five. Very very energetic person, very confident guy (Arshdeep). Enjoys his cricket. Must say he's the leader in the team. He rallies around everyone, takes up the responsibility, even goes up and speaks to the bowlers sometimes”, he added.
RCB captain Faf du Plessis talked about the drawbacks of his team’s performance as he said, “It was a good score, obviously Jonny the way he started put our bowlers under really pressure. I thought we pulled it back a bit. 200 was about par on that wicket, was a brilliant wicket. When you're chasing scores like that, you can't afford to lose wickets in clusters and unfortunately, that's what happened to us. He (Kohli) is seeing the lighter side of it, every single way that you can possibly get out is happening to him. That's how the game works. All you can do is to keep trying hard, work hard and stay positive.”
“He played some good shots tonight, obviously would want him to carry on. Bad patches happen to all of us, he's taken it in the right note. Not a great outing for us tonight. Will take a day off and then see how we can switch on for a game that's a must-win one for us. One more net session isn't going to make you a better player, it's about making yourselves stronger in the mind. If we play to our potential, we are a very strong side. Unfortunately, we didn't do that tonight”, he added.