Royal Challengers Bengaluru Clinch First Win in IPL 2024 Against Punjab Kings
Kohli and Karthik Lead RCB to Victory with Impressive Batting Display
Monday at the Chinnaswamy saw Royal Challengers Bengaluru secure their first victory in the IPL 2024; Virat Kohli set the stage, while Dinesh Karthik added the icing.
With four balls remaining, Karthik emerged unscathed at 28 off 10 balls, while Kohli scored 77 from 49 balls to secure a four-wicket victory.
After two quick dismissals in a row by Kohli and Anuj Rawat, the pressure was returned to the home team as RCB needed to score 59 off the final five overs. Karthik and Impact substitute Mahipal Lomror made sure that the match went their way, needing just 36 from the final three.
Although Lomror was undefeated at 17 off eight balls, Karthik sealed the Punjab Kings' demise in the final over with a six and a boundary.
Earlier, Punjab Kings' 176 for six was constructed on the foundation of captain Shikhar Dhawan's innings.
After RCB chose to bowl first on a wicket with patches of green, Dhawan (45 off 37 balls), Jitesh Sharma (27 off 20 balls), and Prabhsimran Singh (25 off 17 balls) were the primary contributors for Punjab.
Glenn Maxwell and Mohammed Siraj both claimed two wickets for the RCB.
Punjab had a rough start because Jonny Bairstow was out of the game early. Kohli took the Englishman to cover after his clumsy close-to-the-body pull of fast bowler Siraj.
However, after falling down 17 for 1, the visitors were able to recover some ground thanks to Dhawan and Prabhsimran, who skillfully handled the surface and the RCB spinners to score 55 runs off of 38 balls.
Even though Dhawan's innings were not particularly smooth, he had enough bounce to take advantage of loose deliveries. One such delivery was a length ball on the off-stump from left-arm spinner Mayank Dagar, which he lofted over the long-on boundary for a six.
Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Press Time staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.
Occasionally, Prabhsimran would also let go his aggressive side, as evidenced by a flicked six off Cameron Green.
