Punjab Kings beat RCB in rain-hit match after reducing the hosts to a total of 95 runs with crafty bowling

Punjab Kings had to go through mild scares initially but went past the line in 12.1 overs with a score of 98 for five

Bengaluru: Punjab Kings produced an inch-perfect bowling effort, the cornerstone of their five-wicket victory over Royal Challengers Bengaluru in a truncated IPL match here on Friday.

Tim David (50 not out, 26b) scored well over fifty per cent of RCB’s woefully inadequate 95 for nine after an evening round of rain forced the match to start at 9.45 pm in a 14-over-per-side avatar.

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Punjab Kings had to go through mild scares initially but went past the line in 12.1 overs with a score of 98 for five, also prolonging RCB’s wait for their first win at home this season.

Kings’ hard-hitting openers Priyansh Arya, the latest IPL sensation, and Prabhsimran Singh were not precisely comfortable on a pitch that offered considerable bounce to the pacers.

Arya, whose hit through the line technique might work well on a flatter surface, understood the perils of playing on the up here as he skied a mistimed swipe off Josh Hazlewood (3/14) to David.

Prabhsimran fell to Bhuvneshwar Kumar, but the Kings might have been jolted a bit when in-form captain Shreyas Iyer walked back.

Iyer tried to cut a delivery from Hazlewood, but the ball was too close to his body and he could only edge it to stumper Jitesh Sharma.

Josh Inglis’ departure reduced Punjab to 53 for four, and were slipping to a dangerous territory but they found a calm soldier in Nehal Wadhera.

The left-handed Wadhera (33 not out, 19b), who pummelled leg-spinner Suyash Sharma for a couple of sixes, allayed his team’s worries.

A composed Wadhera played a big hand as Punjab Kings eventually crossed the line, swelling their tally to 10 points to move up to second place on the points table behind leaders Delhi Capitals.

Earlier, clever bowling by the Kings restricted RCB to a disappointing total after Shreyas opted to bowl first.

The decision proved right as his bowlers plucked three wickets in the power play segment.

Phil Salt perished in the first over itself, trying to hammer Arshdeep Singh (2/23) out of the park and stumper Inglis completed a good catch.

Virat Kohli did not last long either, as Marco Jansen peddled 20 metres back to pull off a terrific catch off Arshdeep.

The Royal Challengers’ power play phase score read a sorry 26 for three as Liam Livingstone too departed without making any impact.

Yuzvendra Chahal (2/11) made his return to his one-time IPL home, Chinnaswamy Stadium, memorable with the wicket of Jitesh Sharma.

Amidst the ruins around him, skipper Rajat Patidar played some handsome shots, and none better than a pick-up off his pads off Bartlett that soared over mid-wicket for a six.

But RCB soon received a body blow as Patidar (23, 18b) could not clear Bartlett at sweeper cover off Chahal, who teased the batters with those tossed-up, fuller deliveries.

Jansen (2/10), who used short-pitched balls to good effect, had his own moments as he jettisoned Krunal Pandya and Impact Sub Manoj Bhandage as the RCB innings unravelled.

It was despite a few big blows by Player of the Match David that included three sixes in a row off left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar, who also had a share in RCB’s spoils with two wickets.