Punjab Kings inaugurated their Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign with a five-wicket win against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Sunday at the DY Patil Stadium, Mumbai. Faf du Plessis and Mayank Agarwal seized the reign as both Bangalore and Punjab advanced with new captains on the field. The DY Patil stadium also hosted its first IPL game since the 2011 fixture between Pune and Kolkata.
After being invited to bat first, Bangalore managed to administer an enormous total of 205 on a hard and green DY Patil wicket. Faf du Plessis, who averages 60 against Punjab, took the guard for Bangalore alongside Anuj Rawat. The newly-appointed captain Faf looked a bit nervy as Bangalore only managed to put on 41 runs in the powerplay. Similarly, the 22-year old Anuj looked promising at the start but soon departed trying to execute a slog sweep against Rahul Chahar. Punjab Kings had a dazzling start with the bowl as they conceded only four boundaries in the powerplay. However, Punjab was penurious in the field, which further gave Bangalore the momentum to construct a partnership.
Faf was batting at 27 off 36 before Bangalore made 14 runs out of Livingstone’s over. Soon after, the 37-year old smashed four sixes in his next five deliveries. While Faf was playing the aggressor, Virat was playing the supporting role by knocking one’s and two’s. They both were involved in a partnership of 118, which sustained Bangalore’s innings in the middle overs. Faf du Plessis, who was dropped on 7, went on scoring 88 off just 57 deliveries, including seven sixes and three fours. Dinesh Karthik, who was the next man in, handed the finishing touches by scoring 32 off 14 in the last three overs.
Chasing a target of 206, Punjab started on a positive note by chalking up 57 runs in the first five overs. The openers Mayank Agarwal and Shikhar Dhawan gave a blistering start to Punjab’s innings, scoring with a run rate of almost 11 per over. Bangalore soon bounced back as Wanindu Hasaranga trounced Punjab’s captain and secured a wicket in the first ball of his spell. The right-arm leg break bowler also ended the 71-run partnership between Mayank and Shikhar, which was labeled hazardous for Bangalore.
One might have thought Bangalore would register a comeback after Mayank’s wicket, but Bhanuka Rajapaksa had other ploys. The Sri-Lankan batter scored 33 off his first 15 balls, escorting the required rate down to 9 after 11 overs. However, Harshal Patel soon scalped an entrenched Shikhar Dhawan at 43 and situated the match in a parallel position. Soon after, Mohammed Siraj picked up a couple of quick wickets, and debutant Akash Deep attained his maiden wicket as Liam Livingstone carved the bowl straight to the deep cover.
The match was evenly poised after 16 overs before Odean Smith thumped Siraj for four boundaries and acquired 25 runs out of the 17th over. After that, it was an absurdly easy task for Punjab. As a result, Shahrukh Khan finished things off with a boundary and secured a convincing win for the Punjab Kings in their opening encounter. The Punjab Kings will now move to Wankhede to face Kolkata Knight Riders on April 1.
Bangalore posted a stiff target and were front-runners to win the match. However, their substandard death bowling resulted in their first loss of the tournament. They will now lock horns with the in-form Kolkata Knight Riders on 30th
March.Brief Scores: Punjab Kings 208/5 (Bhanuka Rajapaksa 43, Shikhar Dhawan 43; Mohammed Siraj 2/59) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 205/2 (Faf Du Plessis 88, Virat Kohli 41; Rahul Chahar 1/22) by five wickets.