Twitter Reactions: Faf du Plessis, Mohammed Siraj star in RCB's convincing victory in Mohali
While Faf du Plessis led the way with a brilliant innings with the bat, Mohammed Siraj finished with his best-ever bowling figures in IPL to hand RCB a much-needed victory.
Royal Challengers Bangalore rediscover their winning touch after edging past Punjab Kings in an IPL 2023 clash in Mohali to register their third victory of the season. The visitors posted a competitive total on the back of Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis' brilliant opening stand, which was followed by a sizzling bowling spell from Mohammed Siraj in the second innings.
Punjab's pursuit was off to an atrocious start after Atharva Taide was trapped plumb in front by the menacing Mohammed Siraj in the very first over of the chase. Matthew Short, who was trying to up the ante for the home side, was cleaned up by Sri Lankan ace Wanindu Hasaranga with his first delivery in the match.
It went from bad to worse for the hosts when the returning Liam Livingstone was sent packing by Siraj in his second over of the match. RCB were all over their opponents, and a brilliant piece of fielding from the red-hot Indian pacer brought an end to Harpreet Singh's brief stay at the crease.
Sam Curran was the next to depart after a lazy running effort found him short at the non-striker's end. Despite losing a flurry of wickets, the Punjab Kings were still in the chase, thanks to Prabhsimran Singh's blistering knock. However, RCB struck back with the quick wickets of Prabhsimran and Shahrukh Khan to peg back the hosts.
But the game wasn't done there as Punjab's wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma kept his side in the hunt with an explosive knock. However, Mohammed Siraj's best-ever IPL figures helped his side get over the line in the end.
Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis take RCB to a competitive score
Earlier in the match, it was Punjab Kings' stand-in skipper Sam Curran, who won the toss and elected to bowl first on a two-paced surface in Mohali. But it was the visiting Royal Challengers Bangalore side, led by stand-in skipper Virat Kohli, who made a strong start to the game, thanks to a brisk score in the powerplay.
RCB's star opening pair of Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis registered 137 runs for the first wicket, their second-highest this season and fifth-highest in IPL history. While both the batters breached the 50-run mark, it was the South African dasher who maintained a brisk scoring rate for his side with a terrific knock of 84 runs off just 56 deliveries.
Despite a solid platform laid by the RCB openers, the visitors failed to finish with a flurry, managing a par total of 174 runs in their 20 overs as the Punjab Kings bowlers pulled things back nicely after the massive opening stand.
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