KL Rahul's half-century gives Punjab Kings a strong finish against Royal Challengers

40 runs off Harshal Patel's final two overs gave Punjab Kings a much needed boost after their batsman struggled ...

By Lokmat English Desk | Published: April 30, 2021 09:23 PM2021-04-30T21:23:13+5:302021-04-30T21:23:43+5:30

KL Rahul's half-century gives Punjab Kings a strong finish against Royal Challengers | KL Rahul's half-century gives Punjab Kings a strong finish against Royal Challengers

KL Rahul's half-century gives Punjab Kings a strong finish against Royal Challengers

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40 runs off Harshal Patel's final two overs gave Punjab Kings a much needed boost after their batsman struggled for almost 18 overs of the game. The finish allowed Punjab to get within touching distance of the 180-run mark. RCB came storming back once Gayle fell. Wickets fell in heaps and even 170 looked faraway at one stage. However, Rahul batted deep and got good support from young Brar. Punjab didn't seem like they would get to this total given their slow middle overs. However, the last three overs fetched them 45 runs, despite a 7-run over from Siraj. Rahul remained unbeaten on 91 off 57, finishing strong after reeling at 118/5.

Nicholas Pooran's woeful form continued as the West Indies opener registered his fourth duck of the season. Talk about a roller-coaster innings, this certainly was one as the game ebbed and flowed throughout. Earlier, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper Virat Kohli won the toss and elected to bowl. At the time of toss, Kohli said: "More confident now, we gonna bowl first. So the game last night, short boundary on one side. The pitch was two-paced last night, so we want to bowl first. Shahbaz comes in for Sundar looking at the composition of their side. Even when you win games, you need to rectify stuff. We have stepped in with six or seven bowling options each game, so that gives me a lot of comfort and space. The bowlers have been on their mark, all credit to them."On the other hand, Punjab Kings captain KL Rahul said: "We have always found ourselves in this position. We have three changes. Henriques and Arshdeep are out, Mayank is also out. Meredith, Prabhsimran, and Harpreet are in. It is something we have spoken about. We are a young group of guys except for Chris. For RCB, Shahbaz Ahmed comes in place of Washington Sundar, while Punjab Kings have made three changes in their squad.

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