Mullanpur: Opener Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal smashed half-centuries as Royal Challengers Bengaluru crushed Punjab Kings by seven wickets in their Indian Premier League clash here on Sunday.
Chasing 158, Kohli (73 not out off 54 balls) and Padikkal (61 off 35 balls) shared a 103-run partnership, which formed the backbone of the massive win achieved with seven balls to spare.
Earlier, spinners Krunal Pandya (2/25) and Suyash Sharma (2/26) shared four wickets between them as Punjab Kings struggled to build momentum with RCB striking at regular intervals.
After restricting PBKS to a modest total of 157 for six, RCB was never challenged as Virat Kohli (73 not out) and impact sub Devdutt Padikal (61) figured in a match-winning stand of 103 for the second wicket.
Jithesh Sharma (11 not out) pulled Nehal Wadhera over midwicket for a six to usher in the fifth consecutive away win for RCB in IPL 2025
Arshdeep Singh gave PBKS an early lift by dismissing Phil Salt (1) cheaply, but Padikkal was positive and took the attack to the rival bowlers. Padikkal started by uppercutting Arshdeep for his first boundary and later deposited Xavier Bartlett over long-on for a six.
The PBKS spinners Harpreet Brar and Yuzvendra Chahal couldn’t make any impact as Kohli and Padikkal played the big shots to put them under pressure.
Brar, who came on to bowl in the last over of the powerplay, was picked for two boundaries by Kohli and Padikkal. Yuzvendra Chahal was whacked over long on for a six by Padikkal. Kohli also took calculated risks to up the scoring rate as the second wicket stand took the game away from PBKS.
Earlier, Punjab Kings wasted a good start and nurdled its way into a far-from-threatening total of 157 for six.
The RCB spinners Krunal Pandya (two for 25) and Suyash Sharma (two for 26) choked the PBKS batters in the middle overs and struck telling blows as PBKS slumped from 62 for one to 114 for six.
PBKS started brightly and purred at a healthy rate in the powerplay. Prabhsimran Singh ushered his team to a flyer with a 17-ball 33, which contained five fours and a six.
However, his dismissal to Krunal saw PBKS lose its way. Later, the innings was lent some substance by the unbroken 43-run seventh wicket stand between Shanshak Singh (31 not out) and Marco Jansen (25 not out). But the total was inadequate to challenge RCB.
