Who won yesterday's IPL match? The Royal Challengers Bengaluru, up against the Punjab Kings in Dharamsala in match 58 of the 2024 Indian Premier League clinched a 60-run victory extending their winning streak to four, and keeping their playoff hopes alive. (As It Happened | Scorecard)
Punjab won the toss and opted to bowl first.
It was none other than the batting maestro Virat Kohli, alongside Rajat Patidar, who propelled RCB to their fourth consecutive victory, amidst a challenging phase of the campaign. Kohli laid the groundwork for the match with a formidable 47-ball 92 in partnership with Patidar's explosive 55 off 23 balls, complemented by Cameron Green's 46 off 27 balls and Dinesh Karthik's 18 off 7 balls, leading the team to amass 241/7 in 20 overs.
Chasing the target of 242 seemed achievable at first for Sam Curran's side when Rilee Rossouw in his form put up a show with a 27-ball 61-run knock. But soon RCB bowlers took charge and with Karn Sharma's twin strike, the Kings collapsed, they were all out for 181 in 17 overs. This marked the end of the Punjab Kings' run in the 2024 IPL playoffs race.
Not just the batters but the pacers demonstrated that RCB is not done yet yesterday. Swapnil Singh (2/28), Karn (2/36) and Lockie Ferguson (2/29) took two each, while Mohammed Siraj (3/43) claimed three wickets for RCB.
When PBKS lost Prabhsimran Singh at just 6/4 early in the game, all eyes shifted to Rossouw who looked unstoppable at the moment. However, Sharma's delivery and a remarkable catch by Will Jacks combined to dismiss the formidable batsman in the 9th over, leaving Punjab at 107/3.
Rossouw's show with Green, blasting two fours and a six on the way to his fifty off 21 balls was followed by Jonny Bairstow's dismissal who was removed in the sixth over by Lockie Ferguson and Faf Du Plessis' catch with 27 off 16 balls.
Shashank Singh (37/19) and Liam Livingstone (0/2) were the last hopes for Punjab but Kohli's run out and Sharma's soft delivery respectively did the task to save the glory for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Dharamsala.
After this victory, RCB accumulated 10 points, while PBKS (8) were knocked out of the 2024 IPL playoff race as they can reach a maximum of 12 points from the remaining two games.
