On Friday, Punjab Kings (PBKS) trumped Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by 34 runs to claim their third win in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021. After posting 179/5 in their allotted 20 overs, the KL Rahul-led side restricted RCB at 145/8, handing Virat Kohli and Co. their second loss of the season.
Kohli scored 35 off 34 balls before Punjab spinner Harpreet Brar demolished the RCB batting stalwarts, including the skipper himself.
Brar picked up his first wicket when he cleaned up Kohli in the 11th over of the RCB chase. He didn’t just stop there as on the very next ball, the left-armer sent back Glenn Maxwell on a golden duck. As if this wasn’t enough, Brar dismissed RCB’s crisis man AB de Villiers to further sent shockwaves to the Challengers’ unit.
No wonder Kohli looked a bit disappointed after the loss as he explained what exactly went wrong for his side in Ahmedabad. He admitted the bowlers did not put up a good show as they gave away 20-25 runs extra towards the end, which gave Punjab the momentum.
“They got off to a decent start, and we pulled things back decently. Probably gave away 25 too much at the end, should have been chasing 160. Had a chat around executing our plans, which we did, but at the end, we strayed away,” said Kohli at the post-match presentation.
The RCB skipper held the batsmen responsible for his team’s loss, stating that partnerships were required to chase down the target, but it couldn’t happen.
“With the bat, we never got the momentum; they bowled well, to be honest. Just kept the pressure going. But as batsmen as well, we could have tried more things at the start. It was tough to hit through the line. It was about making a partnership and making sure you’re there to keep getting the boundaries, bat at a strike rate of at least 110. We didn’t manage to do that. We understand the areas where we lost momentum,” Kohli added.
The next game of RCB is scheduled to be played at the same venue against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Monday (May 03).
