IPL 2021: Match 26, PBKS vs RCB – Who Said What

The 26^th match of the Indian Premier League took place between Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore. PBKS’ desperate quest for the two points ended as they clinched the match by 34 runs. Winning the toss, Virat Kohli invited PBKS to step up with the willows first where KL Rahul just got unstoppable. Carrying responsibilities for his team, as usual, Rahul played a blistering knock of 91* runs off 57 balls while staying from start to end on the crease.

Harpreet Brar was declared as the player of the match for his stupendous show with the ball in his maiden outing this season where he trapped three big fishes of RCB. He was supported well enough by another star of PBKS, Chris Gayle, who fired the bowlers with his 24-ball 46 as they posted good 179 runs on the board. Kyle Jamieson picked two wickets for the team while Daniel Sams maintained the economy of 6.0 while picking a wicket.

KL Rahul and Harpreet Brar shine for PBKS tonight

While chasing the target, RCB didn’t have a very fine start as only skipper Kohli looked settled on the crease. He top-scored for his team while producing 35 runs. Though Harshal Patel played a quickfire knock of 31 off 13 in the end, it was too late for the Challengers to get hold of the things. Brar turned out to be the perfect blessing for PBKS today as he picked three wickets while conceding at 4.80 and also contributed 25 runs with the bat.

Losing skipper, Virat Kohli said:

They got off to a good start but we pulled things back somewhat after five down. Should have been chasing 160, when they were 116/5, but we gave away 25-odd runs in the end. Focused too much on what the batters were doing. We got away from our plans. We gave too many bad balls for boundaries. As batsmen we could have tried different things early on. It was tough to hit through the line. It was all about trying to get a partnership and have a strike rate of more than 110. We were not able to do that as a batting unit. Just a few little tweaks we need to address going forward. There are areas we need to improve. The composition of our team is such that we give him (Patidar) the freedom to play at number 3. It’s (batting order) situational, this is a good balance for our batting line up. Rajat is a quality player, just that tonight wasn’t his night. In the end we gave away 25 runs too many. One wicket there and we could have squeezed them. We couldn’t execute our plans. Pulled few runs nicely as Harshal and Jamieson hit few runs towards the end. The margin could have been a bigger one otherwise.

Winning skipper, KL Rahul said:

We were preparing Brar. On a picth like this, we felt like we needed a finger spinner who could hit hard lengths. He did exactly that and batted really well in the end as well. I am young myself, but I have been trying to speak to the boys and pass on whatever experience I have of IPL and international cricket. They are blessed with enormous talent and we have to prepare them for the situations and the pressures they’d face in the middle as the captain and the support staff. Really makes me and the supoprt staff very happy. There is nothing in particular against RCB, but all matches against them have been must win games for us because of when they come in the tournament. It was important for me to lead from the front and that’s what I try to do every game. When I have the opportunity to put pressure on bowlers and set targets, I try to do it to the best of my ability. It came off well today. There is a lot written about Gayle, about his age and whether he should be playing. But I know as a captain, just his impact he has when he walks out is huge. I have played with him for 7-8 years and he keeps getting better and better. He is batting at three, something he hasn’t done ever in his career, but he’ll do that for the team. That is man Chris is. He takes pressure off me at the top.

Player of the match, Harpreet Brar said:

 I hail from Moga district. I am sure the people back home would be proud and happy. I wasn’t overwhelmed when Kohli hit me because a bowler always gets a second chance to come back. My first IPL wicket was Kohli’s wicket and that was very special. It came out in a flow after that, your body opens up, you get confident and things fall in place.  When I came out to bat, I had the time to wait for a couple of overs. Rahul bhai was also talking to me about the conditions and about the shots I could play.