RCB falter at home in rain-curtailed thriller against PBKS

Despite the stern glares of the Rain Gods, cricket did happen in Chinnaswamy last night as RCB and PBKS duked out a truncated thriller. RCB fell short at the end as they didn’t have enough in the bank with Punjab securing a five-wicket win in a shortened game of cricket.

Winning the toss, Punjab opted to bowl first. RCB ran into early trouble as Arshdeep Singh sent their openers back into the pavilion in no time at all. Phil Salt (4) and Virat Kohli (1) could hardly scratch the surface against Punjab’s soaring bowling unit up front.

Rajat Patidar dropped anchor to steer RCB to a decent enough podium but with wickets toppling at the other end consistently, it became tough for the hosts to keep up the momentum. Patidar’s 23 off 18 did provide them the much-needed stand but it wasn’t enough as RCB were reduced to 41/6 when their captain headed back to the pavilion.

Tim David took up the reins and eventually packed a powerful punch to provide a fighting chance to RCB. He stayed unbeaten for a 26-ball-50, clobbering five fours and three sixes. David’s late blitz propelled RCB to 95, providing their bowlers a battling chance.

PBKS did get off to a flying start, courtesy of Priyansh Arya (16) and Prabhsimran Singh (13). Bhuvneshwar Kumar applied the brakes with the crucial scalp of Prabhsimran while Hazlewood struck in quick succession to remove Priyansh. It was Hoff’s heroics that turned the match on its head as he struck twice in quick succession, bagging the prized scalps of Shreyas Iyer (7) and Josh Inglis (14).

Despite the twist in the center, Punjab held onto their nerves as Nehal Wadhera (33*) steered clear of the troubled waters to guide the visitors home. The fast-bowling duo of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood shared five wickets between them to provide a glimmer of hope for RCB but Wadhera’s fine knock under the pump ensured two points for PBKS.

Tim David won the Player of the Match award for his unbeaten half-century.