IPL: Kohli and Karthik take RCB over the line against Punjab
Royal Challengers Bengaluru 178 for 6 (Kohli 77, Karthik 28*, Brar 2-13, Rabada 2-23) beat Punjab Kings 176 for 6 (Dhawan 45, Jitesh 27, Siraj 2-26, Maxwell 2-29) by four wickets
It was a Virat Kohli masterclass in a tricky chase at a packed Chinnaswamy Stadium. It was a last-over thriller, and RCB won.
Everything that Royal Challengers Bengaluru fans would have wanted from their team’s first home game of the season, they got it. In spades. But, it didn’t come without a scare.
For the longest time, Kohli – the king of the chade – had things under control. Chasing 177, he had the crowd dancing to his tune as he smashed the Punjab Kings bowlers all around the park for a 49-ball 77.
Till he didn’t.
Harpreet Brar’s frugal spell of 2 for 13 after Kagiso Rabada’s two-wicket burst in the powerplay had RCB in a bind. The crowd was silenced. Were RCB going to become the first team this IPL to lose a home game?
Enter finisher Dinesh Karthik.
His bio says he is 38. He is! But you wouldn’t believe that seeing him move around the crease, and up and down the pitch. With RCB requiring 47 off 22, Karthik walked in and smoked an unbeaten 28 off ten balls, with three fours and two sixes, to take RCB over the line with four balls to spare. (ESPNcricinfo)
