Royal Challengers Bangalore registered their first win of the IPL 2024 season in a nail-biting encounter against Punjab Kings at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Monday. RCB rode on stellar individual performances from former captain Virat Kohli and veteran wicket-keeper batsman Dinesh Karthik to chase down PBKS' total of 176/6 with four balls to spare.
Kohli, who was dropped on 0, made the Kings pay dearly for the mistake. He smashed 77 off 49 deliveries, hitting 7 fours and 2 sixes to lay the foundation for RCB's chase. His exquisite strokeplay saw him find the gaps with ease against a quality Punjab attack. Though RCB lost wickets at regular intervals, Kohli ensured they kept pace with the asking rate during his brilliant knock.
However, once Kohli departed in the 16th over, RCB were still needing 48 runs from the final 4 overs with only 4 wickets in hand. This is when Dinesh Karthik stood up and guided RCB home in style with an unbeaten knock of 28 from just 14 balls. He found the boundary at crucial junctures to ease the pressure and maintained calm amidst a tense situation. Karthik finished the game in stylish fashion with a boundary to leave Punjab stunned.
Earlier, Punjab had posted a decent total primarily due to captain Shikhar Dhawan's 45. But the RCB pacers kept them in check through some clever use of short-pitched balls as part of the new IPL regulations. Mohammad Siraj was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2/26.
This nail-biting victory has kicked off RCB's campaign on a positive note. Riding on individual heroics and holding their nerve in a pressure situation, they will take a lot of confidence from this thriller going forward in the tournament.
