Punjab Kings (PBKS) faced off against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali on Thursday (April 20). RCB emerged victorious in the contest by 24 runs.
Asked to bat first, RCB came out all guns blazing, with openers Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis putting up an impressive partnership of 137 runs. While Kohli scored 59 runs off 47 balls, Du Plessis was the top scorer of the innings with 84 runs off 56 deliveries. The rest of the RCB batters couldn’t contribute much, as they finished their innings with a total of 174/4 in the allotted 20 overs. Meanwhile, Harpreet Brar was the pick of the bowlers for the Punjab-based team with two wickets.
In response, PBKS struggled to get going and lost wickets at regular intervals. Prabhsimran Singh was the only bright spot in the innings, scoring 46 runs off just 30 balls. However, his efforts were not enough as RCB’s bowling attack, led by Mohammed Siraj, proved too strong for the Punjab batters. Siraj took four wickets in his quota of four overs, conceding just 21 runs. The right-arm pacer also inflicted a brilliant run out to dismiss Harpreet Singh Bhatia in the clash.
The direct hit from Siraj came on the third ball of the 6th over when Prabhsimran sent Harpreet Singh back from halfway down the track. Despite being a bit off balance, Siraj hit the bull’s eye from mid-off to rattle the stumps. After inflicting the brilliant direct hit, the 29-year-old cricketer was seen bringing out the popular ‘Siu’ celebration of Cristiano Ronaldo. Kohli was also thrilled with the fall of the wicket and was seen roaring in excitement.
Here’s the video:
Bulls-eye 🎯
You cannot keep @mdsirajofficial out of action today 😃
Follow the match ▶️ https://t.co/CQekZNsh7b#TATAIPL | #PBKSvRCB pic.twitter.com/djPG0wSIBA
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 20, 2023
As far as the result of the match is concerned, PBKS were bowled out for just 150 runs in 18.2 overs, losing the match by 24 runs. Siraj was adjudged ‘Player of the Match’ for his exceptional bowling performance.