- Punjab Kings beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 34 runs.
- Punjab Kings: 179/5 in 20 overs (KL Rahul 91 not out, C Gayle 46, K Jamieson 2/32, D Sams 1/24)
- Royal Challengers Bangalore: 145/8 in 20 overs (V Kohli 35, H Patel 31, R Patidar 31, H Brar 3/19, R Bishnoi 2/17)
It was a magical outing for Harpreet Brar as he picked the big wickets of Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Glenn Maxwell to help Punjab Kings close a 34-run victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Friday night.
Aided by KL Rahul's unbeaten 91 PBKS posted 179/5 after electing to bat first and during the chase, Bangalore looked on target after 10 overs with their score at 62/1 with Virat and Rajat Patidar at the crease. But within two deliveries, Brar changed the script of the match as he sent back not just the RCB captain but also in-form AB de Villiers.
He first removed Kohli, who looked to charge down the wicket but missed the line as the ball kept low. Then the tweaker from Moga spun one to beat Maxwell and hit the top of his off-stump. In the next over, he had de Villiers caught at cover.
RCB were suddeenly reduced to 69/4, needing 111 runs off 47 balls, which proved too much for the lower order batsmen.
Brar had played only three IPL matches before Friday and finished with 3/19 in his four overs to run through the power-packed RCB middle-order.
Before him, Australian pacer Riley Meredith had dealt the first blow to RCB by sending opener Devdutt Padikkal's off-stump flying.
Kohli (35) and Rajat Patidar (31) then took their time and added 43 for the second wicket to set the platform for Maxwell and de Villiers. However, Brar spoiled all the plans.
RCB never really recovered from the fall of the three big wickets and Ravi Bishnoi ensured they would not chance a comeback, sending back Shahbaz Ahmed and Daniel Sams in the 16th over. The young spinner was vying for a hat-trick but Harshal Patel denied him that break as RCB were reduced to 96/7 after 16 overs.
Earlier in the day, PBKS skipper K.L. Rahul's unbeaten 91 (57 balls, 7x4s, 5x6s) helped the team make 179/5 in 20 overs.
Rahul's onslaught helped PBKS realise 40 runs in the last two overs of Harshal Patel after they were struggling to reach a competitive total.
The Punjab franchise had lost opener Prabhsimran Singh (7) early before Chris Gayle (46 off 24 balls) and Rahul took charge. Gayle's knock comprised six fours and two sixes and took the team score to 99 in the 11th over. After Gayle's dismissal that left the team at 99 for two, PBKS lost three more wickets quickly which set them back and threatened to restrict them to under 150.
However, Rahul and newcomer Harpreet Brar (25 not out in 17 deliveries) added unbeaten 61 for the sixth wicket that took PBKS to their eventual score. Brar hit two sixes off Patel.
For RCB, New Zealand pace bowler Kyle Jamieson took two for 32 while left-arm spinner Shahbaz Ahmed took one wicket for 11 runs.
Seam bowler Daniel Sams took one for 24.
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