Punjab Kings (PBKS) stunned favourites Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by 34 runs in match 26 of IPL 2021 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Friday. Sent into bat after losing the toss, PBKS posted a competitive 179 for 5. RCB were never in the hunt in the chase as they lost quick wickets. In the end they only managed 145 for 8, going down rather tamely in the chase. Following RCB’s shocking loss to PBKS, we analyze three reasons why they went down in the match.
- RCB’s Inability to dislodge KL Rahul early
PBKS skipper KL Rahul has a fantastic record against RCB. He just loves taking on the attack. As such, it was imperative for RCB to see the back of Rahul early. It just did not happen though. Right from the start, Rahul was in his elements, playing all his attractive strokes. Even as wickets kept falling from the other end, Rahul held the innings together. He found boundaries at crucial moments and ensured PBKS were never out of the match.
Unlike some of his past knocks, Rahul also ensured he scored at a swift pace. He eased his way to 91 in only 57 balls, smashing seven fours and five sixes. After Prabhsimran Singh fell cheaply, Rahul featured in a rollicking stand with Chris Gayle, who contributed a whirlwind 46 in only 27 balls. The partnership lifted PBKS from 19 for 1 in the fourth over to 99 for 2 in the 11th. It proved a good insurance even as they lost quick wickets after Gayle’s dismissal.
2. PBKS’ charge with the bat at the end
At the end of 17 overs, PBKS had not progressed much. In fact, they were not sitting all that pretty at 132 for 5. The 18th over bowled by Harshal Patel, however, was taken for 18 as Harpreet Brar and KL Rahul went berserk. After only seven came off the 19th over bowled by Mohammed Siraj, Harshal was then taken for 22 in his last over. This time, Rahul hit two fours and a six while Brar finished off the innings with a smashing six over the square leg boundary.
Virat Kohli has placed his faith in Patel for a few games in a row now, but the pacer has not been delivering the desired results. The over against Ravindra Jadeja can be considered as a one-off, but this was certainly not. PBKS specifically targeted Patel and he had no answer ready despite being very well aware of what was coming.
3. Failure of RCB superstars
RCB could definitely have chased the target of 180, but all their big names in the batting flopped on the day. Devdutt Padikkal managed only seven before being cleaned up by Riley Meredith. Virat Kohli got to 35 but could not carry on. He was one of Brar’s three victims. While Kohli and Glenn Maxwell (0) were clean bowled, AB de Villiers (4) also perished cheaply to the left-arm spinner, chipping a simple catch to extra cover.
While RCB could have managed without Kohli and Maxwell, it was impossible for them to win once De Villiers fell cheaply. ABD has been RCB’s biggest match-winner with the bat, pulling the team out of dire circumstances more than once. With De Villiers’ dismissal, went RCB’s faint hopes of a win. The rest of the match was a mere formality.