The Punjab Kings soared to second on the Tata IPL table after they beat the Royal Challengers Bengaluru by five wickets in a rain-affected match contested over 14 overs at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Friday night.
It was RCB’s third consecutive home defeat after winning all four of their away matches.
The match only started two hours late after steady rain and both teams had to negotiate a lively, sweaty wicket that made batting difficult, particularly against pace and spin bowling just short of a length.
Punjab restricted RCB to 95 for nine in their 14 overs, reaching their target with 11 balls in hand.
.@PunjabKingsIPL's red is shining bright in Bengaluru ❤️
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 18, 2025
They continue their winning streak with an all-round show over #RCB 👏
Scorecard ▶ https://t.co/7fIn60rqKZ #TATAIPL | #RCBvPBKS pic.twitter.com/NOASW2XRMD
Punjab won the toss and made the correct decision to insert the home team, tearing through the RCB order, reducing them to 42-7 at one stage, with outstanding performances from Marco Jansen (2-10 off his maximum three overs) and legspinner Yuzvendra Chahal (2-11 in three).
Indeed, without a debut IPL half-century from big-hitting Aussie Tim David (6x4s and 3x6s off 26 balls), RCB would have been thoroughly embarrassed.
As it was, they scored 47 off the first 10 overs and 48 off the last four.
The Aussie gave RCB hope with three consecutive sixes off offspinner Harpreet Brar in the final over as he took 21 off the over that included a no ball.
Maiden #TATAIPL fifty for Tim David 👊
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 18, 2025
Relive his three consecutive sixes 🚀
Scorecard ▶ https://t.co/7fIn60rqKZ #RCBvPBKS pic.twitter.com/iGtby4FPTy
David’s performance was greatly superior to those of his teammates who persisted in trying to hit short of a length deliveries that they mistimed to fielders on the boundary.
Both openers, Phil Salt and Virat Kohli, fell in this manner and only skipper Rajat Patidor got past 20 – aside from David – before he too fell to a catch near the rope.
WADHERE KEEPS HIS COOL
In reply, Punjab also struggled, particularly against some excellent bowling from Josh Hazlewood (3-14 in 3) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2-26 in 3) but their openers at least reached double-figures and they were finally pushed over the line by a superb cameo from Nehal Wadhera who showed the coolest of heads to crack an unbeaten 33 off 19 balls, including three fours and three sixes.
Wadhera did not make the mistake of trying to hit straight, unless the ball was a half-volley, preferring to hit square of the wicket or even behind, using the pace of the delivery to achieve his end.
In the end it was comfortable for the visitors with Marcus Stoinis belting the first ball of the penultimate over for six to take his team to victory.
PUNJAB KINGS: Priyansh Arya, Shreyas Iyer (capt), Shashank Singh, Nehal Wadhera, Josh Inglis (wk), Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Harpreet Brar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Xavier Bartlett, Arshdeep Singh
ROYAL CHALLENGERS BENGALURU: Virat Kohli, Phil Salt, Rajat Patidar (capt), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal, Suyash Sharma