Punjab Kings finally tasted success after a string of defeats in this IPL 2021 after the beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 34 runs in Ahmedabad on Friday to take two points and etch their third win in the tournament.
After being put into bat by RCB captain Virat Kohli, PBKS didn’t start off really well and lost the wicket of Prabhsimran who had replaced Mayank Agarwal in this game for 7.
But Punjab skipper KL Rahul and aggressive batsman Chris Gayle throughly dominated the RCB bowling attack to put up 80 runs for the second wicket before Gayle departed for 46 off 24 which included a couple of maximums and six boundaries.
Gayle’s dismissal though was followed by few quick wickets and Punjab were 118/5 in the 15th over when Rahul along with Harpreet Bear took the charge and the two batsmen 61 runs for the sixth wicket to take the team’s total to 179/5 in 20 overs.
Rahul remained unbeaten at 91 off 57 which involved five sixes and seven boundaries while Brar chipped in with a 17-ball 25 not out.
Kyle Jamieson picked up a couple of wickets for RCB while Daniel Sams, Yuzvendra Chahal and Shahbaz Ahmed scalped a wicket each.
Harshal Patel who has been among wickets in this season for the Bangalore franchise went for some runs and returned with figures of 0/53 in 4 overs.
Later, RCB struggled to get a good start after Devdutt Padikkal was cleaned up by Riley Meredith for 7. Captain Kohli and Rajat Patidar who walked in at number three tried to steady the ship for the side but their slow-paced innings pushed RCB on the backfoot.
Kohli eventually departed for 35 off 34 after trying to accelerate against left-arm spinner Brar. The right-hander completely missed the line and length from the spinner and the ball just dismantled the woodwork behind him.
Glenn Maxwell followed Kohli on the very next ball after he too was bowled by Brar on a peach of a delivery that went through the gates.
The left-arm bowler didn’t stop here and got rid of AB de Villiers a couple of overs later after the former South African was caught at short cover by Rahul.
Brar had a dream run in the middle in this match. First his late surge helped Punjab most a defendable total and he then ripped apart RCB’s middle order to bag a three-for that included the big wickets of Kohli, Maxwell and ABD.
RCB were soon left tottering at 96/7 when Harshal had a go at the bowlers. The right-hander scored 31 off 13 but his brisk innings wasn’t really enough to take RCB over the line.
Apart from Brar, Ravi Bishnoi too had a brilliant day at the office after he returned with figures of 2/17 in four overs.
Captains’ Corner
RCB captain Virat Kohli pointed out that Punjab Kings scored some 20-25 runs extra especially after getting reduced to 118/5.
“They got off to a good start but we pulled things back somewhat after five down. Should have been chasing 160, when they were 116/5, but we gave away 25-odd runs in the end. Focused too much on what the batters were doing. We got away from our plans. We gave too many bad balls for boundaries,” he said.
Kohli further admitted that RCB did fail as a batting unit and the team needs to sit on the drawing board and rejig some strategies before the next assignment. “It was all about trying to get a partnership and have a strike rate of more than 110. We were not able to do that as a batting unit. Just a few little tweaks we need to address going forward. There are areas we need to improve. The composition of our team is such that we give him (Patidar) the freedom to play at number 3. It's (batting order) situational, this is a good balance for our batting line up,” he added.
Rajat Patidar who came out to bat at number three struggled to get going and his slow-paced innings did create some pressure on Kohli as well as on the team. But the skipper insisted that the right-hander is a talented batsman and it was just a bad day for him.
“Rajat is a quality player, just that tonight wasn't his night. In the end we gave away 25 runs too many. One wicket there and we could have squeezed them. We couldn't execute our plans. Pulled few runs nicely as Harshal and Jamieson hit few runs towards the end. The margin could have been a bigger one otherwise,” Kohli said.
Harpreet Brar had a dream run in this match as he scored some runs at a brisk pace and then followed it with the wickets of Kohli, Maxwell and ABD. Talking about the left-arm spinner, Punjab captain KL Rahul said that the team had been preparing Brar and he could have been a useful player on this kind of a track and this is what exactly happened.
“We were preparing Brar. On a pitch like this, we felt like we needed a finger spinner who could hit hard lengths. He did exactly that and batted really well in the end as well. I am young myself, but I have been trying to speak to the boys and pass on whatever experience I have of IPL and international cricket. They are blessed with enormous talent and we have to prepare them for the situations and the pressures they'd face in the middle as the captain and the support staff. Really makes me and the support staff very happy,” Rahul said.
Gayle was in some form during the match against RCB and he went all guns blazing to score a 24-ball 46. Rahul lavished praise on the West Indies batsman and said that he is someone who takes pressure off him.
“There is a lot written about Gayle, about his age and whether he should be playing. But I know as a captain, just his impact he has when he walks out is huge. I have played with him for 7-8 years and he keeps getting better and better. He is batting at three, something he hasn't done ever in his career, but he'll do that for the team. That's the kind of man Chris is. He takes pressure off me at the top,” KL added.
Experts’ Opinions
Commentator Harsha Bhogle hailed Brar and Ravi Bishnoi for their contributions in Punjab’s win against RCB.
Journalist Ayaz Memon also praised Harpreet for his brilliant bowling against the likes of Kohli, Maxwell and de Villiers.
Journalist Boria Majumdar had an interesting question to ask for the selectors. Appreciating Bishnoi’s efforts both with the ball and in the field, Boria asked whether the right-hander can be the answer to India’s leg spin for the World T20.
TV journalist Vikrant Gupta too praised Brar’s three-wicket haul and especially the batsmen he dismissed during the course.
Punjab Kings will now play DC on Sunday in Ahmedabad while RCB will face KKR on Monday at the same venue.