Brief Scores: Punjab Kings 179/5 in 20 overs (KL Rahul 91, Chris Gayle 46; Kyle Jamieson 2-32) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 145/8 in 20 overs (Virat Kohli 35; Harpreet Brar 3-19) by 34 runs.
Royal Challengers Bangalore were the firm favourites heading into the game, but Punjab Kings, who had the better of them in the last two outings, extended their winning streak against them as they wrapped up a convincing win. Led by KL Rahul with the bat in the first innings, the Punjab side posted a stiff 179 for 5 on the board after crucial cameos from Chris Gayle and Harpreet Brar. The second innings belonged to Brar as he got the three big wickets of Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell and AB de Villiers in the span of just seven balls to cap off a memorable game for himself and his team.
Here are the talking points from the match between the Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Harpreet Brar was here, there, everywhere
Though the Punjab Kings’ innings was led by a fine ninety from skipper KL Rahul, it was Harpreet Brar who stole the show with the bat and then with the ball. Walking in to bat after his side had slumped from 99 for 1 to 119 for 5 in just 4 overs, the onus was on Harpreet, known for his big hits, to play a sensible knock along with his skipper. The Moga player stayed unbeaten in the end as he made 25 off just 17 balls and shared a 61-run stand with Rahul. The duo took on the bowlers in the last five overs of the innings, with as many as 22 runs coming in the last over that was sent down by Purple Cap holder Harshal Patel.
It was with the ball, though, that Brar shone. The 25-year old left arm spinners, who was on the verge of giving up cricket after three unsuccessful trials for the Kings XI Punjab team, started off his spell by conceding a six and a four but then bounced back soon after he got the wickets of Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell and AB de Villiers in the span of seven deliveries without conceding a run. After a silent start, the RCB skipper looked to attack Brar, who replaced Arshdeep Singh for the game, but he missed a slider as his middle stumps were whipped off. The very next ball, Glenn Maxwell was dismissed by a classic left-arm spinner’s delivery that beat him before clipping off the batter’s off-stump. De Villiers followed soon after as he tried to go inside out only to hole it to KL Rahul at cover. RCB, from 62 for 1 at one stage, slipped to 69 for 4 within just two overs, as Brar dismissed the key players from the rival team. To cap off the memorable day, Brar took a catch as well.
Yuzvendra Chahal is facing a downhill slope like Kuldeep Yadav
Not long ago, the duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav (nicknamed KulCha) were the primary spinners in the Indian cricket team. The leg spinners had ousted Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin from the white-ball set-up, and looked well set for a long haul. However, after making waves on the international stage for over three years, the downhill is apparent. While Kuldeep is no longer a first choice in the Indian squad and does not even feature in the XI for his IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders, Chahal seems to be following suit. Though he ended with 1 for 34 against Punjab Kings, it is evident that he has lost his mojo that made him a feared bowler to face. Dropped from the last few T20 Internationals against England in March, Chahal was expected to come back strongly in the Indian Premier League, but he has massively disappointed, conceding 190 runs in seven games while picking up just 4 wickets at a strike rate of 34.5. He seems to be bowling flatter with shorter lengths that has allowed the batters to play him on the back foot. Earlier, Chahal would flight the ball up and bowl fuller, which drew the batsmen out of their crease. With Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi and Rahul Chahar impressing in the last two seasons of the IPL, it will not be a surprise if they get a call-up to the Indian squad for the T20 World Cup later this year. They might even edge ahead of KulCha in the playing XI.
What has happened to Nicholas Pooran?
The Punjab Kings team had a solid batting line-up that consisted of KL Rahul, Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Dawid Malan, Nicholas Pooran and Shahrukh Khan ahead of the IPL. However, they have been let down by the form of Pooran, who has just scored 28 runs this season in six innings that he has batted in. On Friday against RCB, Pooran was out for his fourth duck of the tournament as he was bounced out by fast bowler Kyle Jamieson. He averages a dismal 4.66 this season, and has a high score of just 19, which came against Kolkata Knight Riders. With a player like Dawid Malan – the number one ranked T20I batsman in the world – waiting in the wings, Punjab Kings might be tempted to drop the West Indian and get in the Englishman ahead of the next game against Delhi Capitals on Sunday.
Interestingly, Glenn Maxwell, who had a below par season with Punjab last year and could not hit a single six, has been the game-changer for RCB this season. Maybe, Pooran will fire if he plays for another team, just like Maxwell did!
