Punjab Kings (PBKS), led by their new skipper Mayank Agarwal, made a stupendous start to their campaign in the 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL). On Sunday, March 27, they defeated Faf du Plessis’ Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by five wickets at the Dy Patil Sports Academy in Mumbai.
The game turned out to be a high-scoring thriller as both teams scored over 200 runs. In the end, RCB’s bowling lineup wasn’t strong enough to restrict the belligerent Punjab batters. After being put into bat first on a decent batting strip, the Challengers got to a reasonable score of 205 for the loss of two wickets.
Newly-appointed RCB skipper du Plessis scored his first 39 runs at a run-a-ball before stepping on the gas. The veteran notched 88 off 57 with three fours and seven sixes before falling prey to Arshdeep Singh in the death overs. He and Anuj Rawat, who made 21 runs, laid the platform for the Challengers.
Virat Kohli was a tad sedate as he made 41 runs off 29 balls with one four and two sixes. But it was Dinesh Karthik, who gave the RCB innings a finishing kick. Karthik, who came from the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) showed his innovative display of stroke-play. The veteran stayed not out on 32 off 14 with three fours and as many sixes.
Punjab Kings register their maiden IPL 2022 win
Shikhar Dhawan and Mayank Agarwal put on 71 runs for the opening wicket to make sure Punjab Kings didn’t lose early wickets in their opening IPL 2022 game. Wanindu Hasaranga separated the duo after he picked up Agarwal, who scored 32 off 24. Four overs later, Dhawan also perished after scoring 43 runs off 29 balls.
Bhanuka Rajapaksha took the attack to the opposition and scored 43 at a strike rate of nearly 200. But Mohammed Siraj brought RCB back into the contest. First, he got rid of a well-set Rajapaksha and then dismissed IPL debutant Raj Bawa.
However, a late onslaught from Odean Smith made sure PBKS chase the target with an over left. The right-hander smashed an unbeaten eight-ball 25 with one four and three sixes. Shahrukh Khan also made a handy 20-ball 24. Siraj picked two wickets but went for 59 runs in four overs.
Here’s how the netizens reacted to PBKS’ win
Punjabiya di balle balle..@PunjabKingsIPL chak te phatte 💪. Kamal ki hitting by #odeansmith jamaica jalandhar same same.. top batting #sharukhkhan @IPL @StarSportsIndia
Advertisement— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) March 27, 2022
Smith was very impressive in #PBKS win. Went for too many runs while bowling but batted with a superb temperament under pressure. #RCBvPBKS #PBKSvsRCB
— R P Singh रुद्र प्रताप सिंह (@rpsingh) March 27, 2022
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Exceptional display of power hitting in this game from both sides! The #PunjabKings expectedly are looking dangerous, what a chase 👏🏽#RCBvPBKS
Advertisement— Abhinav mukund (@mukundabhinav) March 27, 2022
#PBKS approach was excellent during the run chase. Normally, teams focus on left right combination continuation but the way Punjab used #Rajapaksa against Hasaranga was a very smart move. #RCBvPBKS #PBKSvsRCB
— parthiv patel (@parthiv9) March 27, 2022
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Delight to see the confidence and calmness in the eyes of #ShahRukhKhan. That is where the young Indian players have improved the most. #TATAIPL #RCBvsPBKS #crickettwitter
Advertisement— Pragyan Ojha (@pragyanojha) March 27, 2022
Not a single half century from their batters but still chased down 205. This season Punjab kings will be scaring the other teams with power hitting. Brilliant chase. #
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) March 27, 2022
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What a game of cricket.Superb hitting from both the sides.@BhanukaRajapak3 Awesome Stuff buddy set the tone for @PunjabKingsIPL Good Luck for next Game…..👏🏼👏🏼 #IPL2022 #RCBvsPBKS
Advertisement— Dimuth Karunarathna (@IamDimuth) March 27, 2022
Fantastic chase from @PunjabKingsIPL! Two super games on a Super Sunday 👏 #TataIPL #RCBvPBKS
— S.Badrinath (@s_badrinath) March 27, 2022
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Teams not know how good Odean is hitting up and over extra cover ?? Just ask @SaluteCotterell car lol. Cracking batting by both teams in this game #RCBvPBKS
Advertisement— Niall John O Brien (@niallnobiobrien) March 27, 2022
Dhoni
Rohit
KohliAll three ended in losing side
Advertisement— Broken Cricket (@BrokenCricket) March 27, 2022
RCB should stop setting a target of 206. Never really works in their favour. pic.twitter.com/4GYKa2JfHi
— Heisenberg ☢ (@internetumpire) March 27, 2022
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