In the 27th match of the Indian Premier League 2023 season, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) clashed with Punjab Kings (PBKS) on April 20 at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali. RCB emerged victorious by 24 runs, registering their third win of the season.
PBKS captain Sam Karan won the toss and elected to bowl first. RCB’s openers Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli gave a great start to the team with their explosive batting. While Kohli scored 59 runs in 47 balls, du Plessis smashed 84 runs in 56 balls with five fours and five sixes. However, Dinesh Karthik and Glenn Maxwell disappointed, getting out for 7 and 0 runs respectively. RCB set a target of 175 runs for PBKS.
PBKS started their innings strong with opener Simran Singh scoring an explosive 46 off 30 balls. However, apart from Jitesh Sharma, who scored 41 runs in 27 balls, no other PBKS player could touch the 15-run mark. PBKS were all out in 20 overs for just 150 runs, falling short of the target by 24 runs.
RCB’s bowlers did wonders, with Mohammad Shiraz taking 4 wickets for 21 runs in 4 overs, while Wanindu Hasaranga and Harshal Patel contributed with 2 and 1 wicket each. Wayne Parnell also took a wicket with his excellent bowling.
Harpreet Brar was the best bowler for PBKS, taking 2 wickets for 31 runs in 3 overs. Nathan Ellis and Arshdeep Singh also took 1 wicket each.
RCB’s playing XI included Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis, Mahipal Lomror, Glenn Maxwell, Suyash Prabhudesai, Dinesh Karthik (wicketkeeper), Shahbaz Ahmed, Wanindu Hasaranga, Harshal Patel, Wayne Parnell, and Mohammad Siraj. PBKS’s playing XI consisted of Atharva Taide, Matthew Short, Harpreet Singh, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sam Curran (c), Shah Rukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Nathan Ellis, Rahul Chahar, and Arshdeep Singh.
