RCB vs PBKS: Virat Kohli & DK power RCB to 4-wicket win

RCB prevail!

Dinesh Karthik is the man as RCB hold their nerves to seal a win at home. RCB beat PBKS by 4 wickets.

Lomror keeps hopes alive!

RCB need 23 off 12 and Mahipal Lomror has kept hopes alive with some exquisite shots.

Anuj Rawat gone!

Royal Challengers Bengaluru are bottling it now. Anuj Rawat is trapped LBW by Sam Curran and RCB now need 47 off 22 with 4 wickets in hand.

Big, big blow!

Harshal Patel has dismissed Virat Kohli for 77. RCB are still 47 runs away and they have only 24 balls left to get there.

Virat time!

Chasemaster Virat Kohli has kept RCB’s hopes alive. RCB need 50 more off 26 and Kohli is leading the team in the chase. He can get to a century.

Saans toh lene de!

Not just Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli offers some great stump mic moments. He has a funny response to Harpreet Brar hurrying things up.

Brar strikes again!

Harpreet Brar has struck again and it’s the dangerous Glenn Maxwell who departs. RCB still need 74 runs and Punjab have a chance to make a comeback now.

Rajat Patidar departs

Harpreet Brar has done it for Punjab. He has broken the stand and it’s Rajat Patidar who departs for 18-ball 18. RCB 88/3 after 11. They need another 89 runs off 54 balls.

Kohli smashes 51st 50

Virat Kohli gets to his half-century off 31 balls. This is his 51st half-century in IPL and 100th 50+ score in T20.

Kohli-Patidar on song

Virat Kohli is closing in on his half-century. On the other end, Rajat Patidar too is motoring along well. RCB 77/2 after 9

End of powerplay

RCB score 50/2 in 6 overs. Not a great start but Virat Kohli has maintained the pace. RCB need Kohli to be there in this form.

Rabada removes Green

Kagiso Rabada has struck again and it’s Cameron Green who falters for a second time in RCB colours. RCB 43/2 after 4.4.

King commands Chinnaswamy

Virat Kohli is dictating terms. He is ripping apart Punjab bowling attack after that dropped catch. RCB 40/1 after 4.

Faf gone Plessis!

Faf du Plessis departs and he loses the battle to Proteas teammate Kagiso Rabada. RCB 26/1 after 2.4.

4, 4, 4, 4: Kohli pays back

Jonny Bairstow will be ruing that missed chance. Kohli edged one to the slip and Bairstow failed to hold on to it. And Kohli pays back with four boundaries off Sam Curran’s over. RCB 16/0 after 1.

Virat-Faf begin

Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis begin 177-run chase. RCB need Virat on the crease for long and need Faf to hit quick runs.

Punjab Kings 176/6

It’s Shashank Singh who powers Punjab Kings to 176/6 with an 8-ball 21-run knock. He was a wrong pick initially for PBKS even though they clarified later that Shashank was one of their targets.

Curran out!

An excellent short ball and Sam Curran tried to bat it. But could only manage an edge. Anu Rawat jumped almost two feet in the air to take the catch. PBKS 150/5 after 17.5

Last 3 overs!

Punjab Kings are 139/4 after 17 and need another 40-50 runs to be in a safer zone. All eyes are on JItesh and Curran!

Curran-Jitesh get going

Two big-hitters are on the crease at the death. Sam Curran and Jitesh Sharma aim to score quick runs to take Punjab across 175-run mark. PBKS 128/4 after 15.

Back-to-back wickets!

Punjab Kings have lost their captain Shikhar Dhawan for 45. And it’s second wicket for Glenn Maxwell. RCB are well and truly are on top. PBKS 98/4 after 12.1.

Livingstone gone!

Alzarri Jospeph troubled Liam Livingstone. And he has dismissed him. Livingstone falls for 17. But Shikhar Dhawan is on the crease and is closing in on a half-century. Punjab 98/3 after 12.

Halfway through

Punjab Kings are halfway through and they have only posted 78/2. They need another 100 in the last 10 overs. Can they get there?

Preabhsimran gone!

He was off to a good start and seemed like it could be his day. But Glenn Maxwell has dismissed Prabhsimran Gill. Punjab lose 2nd wicket and he departs for 17-ball 25. PBKS 72/2 after 9.

Punjab struggle

8 overs gone now and Punjab have only managed xx runs. Even though Prabhsimran Singh Gill has hit a 90m six, there have been no fireworks otherwise. Shikhar Dhawan is also off to a sedate start. Punjab 61/1 after 8

End of powerplay

What an excellent start by RCB pacers. Yash Dayal has been excellent and Punjab Kings can only manage 40 in 6 overs. Dayal has given out just 10 runs in three overs.

Bairstow’s struggle continues

With two boundaries off Siraj, it seemed Jonny Bairstow would end his struggle. But he top-edges for Virat Kohli for an easy catch. With that, he continues his poor run of form. PBKS 21/1 after 3.

Bairstow in India this season including Test: 37, 10, 25, 26, 0, 4, 38, 30, 29, 39, 9, 8

PBKS off to steady start

Shikhar Dhawan and Jonny Bairstow are off to a steady start against RCB’s pace attack. Yash Dayal has bowled well in his first over, conceding just 2 runs.

PBKS bat first

Jonny Bairstow and Shikhar Dhawan will begin for Punjab. They need a fast start.

RCB Subs

Suyash Prabhudessai, Mahipal Lomror, Karn Sharma, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Swapnil Singh

PBKS Subs

Arshdeep Singh, Rilee Rossouw, Tanay Thyagarajan, Harpreet Bhatia, Vidwath Kaverappa

PBKS Playing XI

Shikhar Dhawan(c), Jonny Bairstow, Prabhsimran Singh, Sam Curran, Jitesh Sharma(w), Liam Livingstone, Shashank Singh, Harpreet Brar, Harshal Patel, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar

RCB Playing XI

Faf du Plessis(c), Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green, Dinesh Karthik, Anuj Rawat(w), Alzarri Joseph, Mayank Dagar, Mohammed Siraj, Yash Dayal

Shikhar Dhawan speaks

We would have bowled first. But looking forward to batting first now. We did a lot of right things in the first game and that’s why we ended up on the winning side. We have to keep improving each game. Same team.

Faf du Plessis speaks

It looks a pretty good wicket but also because of the way our team is set up. The boys are excited for the season. In any game of cricket you can’t have clusters of wickets and we have to improve on that. Same team and one or two options on changing the substitutions.

RCB go unchanged

Royal Challengers Bengaluru are unchanged despite their loss in the first match against CSK.

Toss update

Faf du Plessis has won the toss and he has opted to chase against Punjab Kings.

Virat Kohli warms up

After not so great knock against CSK, Virat Kohli is back to square one and he is warming up. All eyes will be on Kohli if he can return to form.

Virat meets KP

Pitch report

RCB will three home games on the trot and they are set for a rocky ride. It has been a high-scoring ground in WPL. And the same is expected in IPL as well. With the centre pitch being used, the side boundaries are 60 meters on either side and straight is 70 meters.

It’s a hard pitch with bounce on offer and it certainly looks like a batting heaven.

No home advantage

Unlike all other teams in the IPL, RCB don’t really enjoy a home advantage. 200+ scores can be chased with the small boundary size.

Full IPL Schedule out

RCB Probable Playing XI

 Faf du Plessis (c), Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green, Dinesh Karthik, Anuj Rawat (wk), Karn Sharma, Lockie Ferguson, Mayank Dagar, Mohammed Siraj.

PBKS Probable Playing XI

 Shikhar Dhawan (c), Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Shashank Singh, Harpreet Brar, Harshal Patel, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh.