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Royal Challengers Bengaluru are turning it on!
After managing just one victory from their first eight games, RCB have stormed back with four victories in a row to keep their play-offs hopes alive.
Once again it was Virat Kohli, who starred with the bat for RCB with a vintage knock in a must-win game to help them overpower the Punjab Kings.
Rajat Patidar also stole the show with a stroke-filled half-century during his rampaging partnership with Kohli as the duo benefitted from Punjab's poor showing in the field.
For the hosts, only Rilee Rossouw could mount a challenge with the bat as they made an early exit from the tournament.
PBKS vs RCB: The Best Knocks...
Virat Kohli
Kohli turned a reprieve into a rampage on Thursday, smashing a classic 47-ball 92, against Punjab Kings.
Dropped twice early on nought and 11, Kohli made PBKS pay dearly for the fielding lapses. He timed the ball beautifully, using both feet and wrists to carve his way to a sixth IPL fifty this season.
Kohli struggled with his timing at the start of his innings as he played and missed quite a few times against the pacers in the early overs. The critics were starting to draw their knives out as Kohli struggled to 15 from 12 balls in the Powerplay before he changed gears quite efficiently.
A six off Vidhwath Kaverappa over long off in the fifth over saw Kohli go on the attack. He made it a point to hit regular boundaries in the middle overs to help sustain the momentum. He slammed part-time spinner Liam Livingstone for back to back fours in the 13th over to complete his fifty in just 32 balls.
He then unleashed his full repertoire, dispatching the spinner over mid wicket for a monstrous 94-metre maximum in his next over. The boundaries kept flowing, with another towering six over long on off Sam Curran adding to the misery of the PBKS bowlers.
Kohli's knock wasn't just brutal, it also helped him scale another landmark. He went past the tally of 600 runs for the fourth time in his IPL career, equaling K L Rahul for the most 600-plus seasons in IPL.
His 76-run partnership from 32 balls for the third wicket with with Rajat Patidar (55 off 23 balls) laid the foundation for a mammoth total.
The rain interruption had no effect on Kohli, who continued in the same vein after the resumption, propelling RCB to a record-breaking 241/7 -- the highest ever team total at the HPCA stadium in Dharamsala.
This knock not only puts him in the top five for most sixes in IPL 2024, but also cements his position as one of the most dominant batters in the history of the T20 league.
He was unlucky not to bag his second century of the season as he perished for 92 in the 18th over, caught in the deep off Arshdeep Singh. His 47-ball knock contained six sixes and seven fours, and importantly at an incredible strike rate of 195.
'I am trying to keep up with the strike rate for me and the team,' King Kohli declared after the victory.
Rajat Patidar
Punjab Kings were extremely poor on the field, putting down some easy catches, which ultimately proved to be a crucial factor in their defeat.
Rajat Patidar was the beneficiary as he was put down even before he had got off the mark. Harshal Patel dropped a simple catch at fine leg off the bowling of pacer Vidhwath Kaverappa in the fifth over after the RCB right-hander could not get his pull shot in the gap.
Patidar made Harshal feel the pain as he slammed the pacer for three boundaries when he came on to bowl in the next over, while he hit Kaverappa for a six in his final over, easily clearing the fielder at long-on.
Patidar took leg-spinner Rahul Chahar to the cleaners. The spinner was guilty of bowling two short balls at the start of his spell, as Patidar made most to hit the first two balls of the eighth over for back to back sixes.
The RCB batter enjoyed another reprieve. After being hit for successive sixes, Chahar was denied revenge with wicket-keeper Jonny Bairstow putting down the edge before Patidar inflicted further pain on the hapless Chahar, smashing a wide half-volley over long off for the third six of the over.
Patidar kept dealing in sixes. He swatted the back of length delivery from Arshdeep Singh for a six wide of long-on before pulling the short ball from Sam Curran for a six over fine leg to race to his fifty from 21 balls.
This is his fourth fifty of IPL 2024, and interestingly all of them have come in away matches.
He has bounced back in fine style after struggling for runs in the Test series against England followed by a few failures at the start of the IPL. He managed just 50 runs in his first four innings before he has got his mojo back with four fifties in six innings.
Patidar failed to carry on as he was caught behind off Sam Curran in the 10th over. His quickfire 55 from 23 balls, inclusive of six sixes and three fours, helped RCB seize the momentum.
Such was the impact of Patidar's aggressive approach, that even Kohli preferred to play second fiddle during their smashing partnership of 76 from 32 balls for the third wicket.
Cameron Green
While Virat Kohli anchored the RCB innings with his blistering knock, Cameron Green wasn't to be outdone. Picking up the pace after Kohli's fifty, Green joined the onslaught, contributing a crucial 46 runs off just 27 balls.
His knock included five boundaries and a towering six, showcasing his powerful hitting ability to give RCB the impetus in the death overs.
The Kohli-Green partnership added a quickfire 92 runs in just 46 balls, propelling RCB past the crucial 200 run mark.
Green continued his assault even after Kohli's departure, bringing up the team's 150 with a cracking four off Harshal Patel. His fiery knock was unfortunately cut short on the very last ball of the innings.
Green mistimed a Harshal Patel delivery, skying it towards long on where a diving Sam Curran took a spectacular catch to end the innings.
Despite his dismissal, Green's late-innings power surge proved invaluable for RCB, helping them post a formidable total on the board. Courtesy of the Australian, RCB were able to smash 77 from the last five overs.
Rilee Rossouw
Rilee Rossouw was the only bright spot for Punjab Kings in an otherwise disappointing performance against RCB, which saw them get eliminated from the league.
Rossouw showcased his batting prowess belligerent 27-ball 61, including three sixes and nine fours, to give the home fans something to cheer about in a game dominated by RCB.
Chasing a huge 242 for victory, Punjab suffered an early jolt when Prabhsimran Singh was trapped leg before wicket in the first over by spinner Swapnil Singh.
Rossouw wasted no time as he slammed the first two balls he faced, from Swapnil, for boundaries to get off the mark in positive fashion.
Rossouw, was put down by Mahipal Lomror at point in the third over, and he also made most of that lifeline. India's premier pace bowler Mohammed Siraj suffered at the hands of the South African left-hander, who hammered him for three fours and a six in the fourth over to revive Punjab Kings after a difficult start.
His attacking approach also inspired Jonny Bairstow to hit some boundaries to rally Punjab to 75/2 in the Powerplay.
Rossouw brought up his fifty of IPL 2024 from just 21 balls in smashing fashion as he lofted Cameron Green straight down the ground for a huge six.
Rossouw went after leg-spinner Karn Sharma when he came into the attack in the ninth over, hitting a four and a six to take Punjab Kings past 100. But he perished the same bowler as he mistimed the pull shot off a short ball and spliced a simple catch to Will Jacks at long on.
PBKS vs RCB: Who Played The Best Knock? Vote!
Photographs: BCCI