Jonny Bairstow’s destroying innings helped Punjab Kings to beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 54 runs. This victory gave a massive boost for the Punjab Kings to go to the semifinals of this tournament.
With 12 points from 12 games, Punjab Kings are standing in the 6th place on the point table. They have two more games left in this tournament. So, the Kings must win these remaining matches to secure the semifinals. Royal Challengers Bangalore, meanwhile, are in the fourth position on the table. They earned 14 points from 13 games. But the RCB have just one match left. The defeat against Punjab Kings made the future uncertain for Bangalore.
Match Report
Faf du Plessis, the captain of Royal Challengers Bangalore, won the toss and decided to bowl first at the Brabourne Stadium. So, Jonny Bairstow and Shikhar Dhawan started the batting innings for the Punjab Kings. Both batsmen started playing very aggressively from the start of the match. They added 60 runs together in the opening partnership. Shikhar Dhawan lost his wicket to Glenn Maxwell in the 5th over, ending their brilliant partnership.
On the other hand, Bairstow continued hitting boundaries. He tried to make partnerships with new batters. But the following two batsmen couldn’t survive on the pitch. In the 10th over, Jonny Bairstow also departed the pitch. But before losing the wicket, Bairstow scored 66 runs only from 29 balls. He hit seven sixes and four boundaries in this innings. Moreover, Liam Livingstone added a very crucial 70 runs in the middle-order for the Punjab Kings. Relying on his bat, Punjab Kings scored 209 runs in 20 overs.
Chasing the massive target, Royal Challengers Bangalore lost three wickets within five overs. Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis, and Mahipal Lomror departed the pitch very early. After that, Rajat Patidar tried to make a resistance with Glenn Maxwell. They added 64 runs together on the scoreboard. Unfortunately, Rajat Patidar lost the wicket in the 11th over. Moreover, Glenn Maxwell also departed the pitch in the following over. Then the remaining batsmen couldn’t score enough to chase the target. Their innings ended in 155 runs in 20 overs. As a result, Punjab Kings won the match by 55 runs.