Royal Challengers Bengaluru secured a dominant seven-wicket victory over Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League on Sunday, with half-centuries from city franchise batter Virat Kohli and left-hander Devdutt Padikkal proving decisive during a clinical chase.
Bengaluru, in pursuit of 158 for victory, reached the target with seven balls remaining at the Mullanpur ground near Chandigarh. A 103-run partnership for the second wicket between Kohli and Padikkal propelled the side after the early dismissal of opener Phil Salt in the first over to pacer Arshdeep Singh.
Virat Kohli, 36, remained unbeaten on 73 and recorded his fourth half-century of the season.
With the knock, Kohli surpassed Australia's David Warner for the most 50-plus scores in IPL history, reaching the milestone for the 67th time, which includes eight centuries.
Left-handed batter Devdutt Padikkal contributed 61 runs off 35 deliveries. His innings marked the first fifty of his season. Harpreet Brar dismissed Padikkal, ending the pivotal partnership and leaving Kohli to anchor the chase with a composed 54-ball innings studded with seven boundaries and a six.
Bengaluru's bowlers laid the foundation for the win by limiting Punjab to 157-6. Spinners Krunal Pandya and Suyash Sharma claimed two wickets apiece. Punjab openers Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh provided an aggressive start with a 42-run stand before franchise spinner Pandya broke through in the fifth over by removing Arya for 22.
Pandya struck again in his following over, dismissing Prabhsimran for 33 off 17 deliveries and finishing with figures of 2-25.
West Indies fast bowler Romario Shepherd, making his first appearance of the season for Bengaluru, removed Punjab skipper Shreyas Iyer for six. Soon after, Nehal Wadhera was run out.
England’s Josh Inglis attempted to rebuild the innings with a quickfire 29 off 17 balls but fell to leg-spinner Sharma, who bowled him with a well-flighted delivery. Sharma struck again in the same over to dismiss Marcus Stoinis, reducing Punjab to 114-6.
Lower-order resistance from Shashank Singh, who made 31, and Marco Jansen, who added 25, resulted in an unbeaten 43-run stand. However, the efforts fell short in the face of Bengaluru’s disciplined performance.
