Batting first, KL Rahul took the responsibility as a captain and managed to put 221 on board in just 20 overs.
Rahul was the top scorer for the red-army with a 50-ball 91, including seven fours and five sixes. Their middle-order batsman Deepak Hooda too chipped in with crucial runs at a scintillating strike rate of 228.57. He smashed 64 runs off 28 deliveries.
With the first innings bending the match in favour of the Mohali-based franchise, their luck rocked back and forth when the Sanju Samson-led team managed to score 217 and lost the chase by only four runs.
Formerly known as Kings XI Punjab, the Preity Zinta-owned franchise have managed to qualify for the playoffs only twice. And the closest ever they came to the trophy was in the 2014 season when they finished as runner-ups.
It was only in the current season that they changed their name from Kings XI Punjab to Punjab Kings and brought along a new logo and a jersey.
After the gut-thumping match, Zinta took to Twitter and congratulated her team. Her tweet indicated that she was going through a plethora of emotions after the head to head match.
Even though she applauded the team, Zinta also accepted that though her franchise has been re-branded with a new name, logo and a jersey, yet they seem to be the very old Punjab that has given her some nervous moments. The Bollywood diva went on to mention Rahul and Hooda, the night’s superstars for Punjab, in her tweet. She also seemed satisfied with the fact that in the end, Punjab managed to win the match.
Yeah 👊What a game ! We have a New name & a New Jersey, still #saddapunjab won’t stop giving us heart attacks in a game. What to do ? Not a perfect game for us but in the end it was PERFECT🤩Wow @klrahul11 @iamdeepakhooda & all the boys @PunjabKingsIPL #RRvsPBKS #IPL2021 #Ting pic.twitter.com/UDwPlBlgl0
— Preity G Zinta (@realpreityzinta) April 12, 2021
PBKS will play their next game against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on April 16 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
