Published 23:02 IST, September 24th 2020
IPL 2020: KL Rahul leads Punjab to thumping victory as Punjab defeat Bangalore by 97 runs
Bagging their first two points of the season, Punjab defeated Bangalore by a massive margin of 100 runs at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Thursday
Bagging their first two points of the season, Punjab defeated Bangalore by a massive margin of 100 runs at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Thursday. Batting first, KL Rahul led his team to a formidable total of 206 off 20 overs. After a stunning batting display, Punjab put up a wonderful show with the ball as they scalped quick wickets in the first three overs giving Bangalore no room to score.
In response to Punjab's huge total, Bangalore were off to a terrible start as they lost three wickets in the very first three overs. Apart from Padikkal and Josh Phillipe, it was the big wicket of skipper Virat Kohli by Sheldon Cottrell which put Punjab in a dominating position.
Just as de Villiers and Aaron Finch looked to steady the innings for Bangalore, youngster Ravi Bishnoi landed another blow as he bowled the Australian. Soon after Finch, South Africa's prolific batsman AB de Villiers was also dismissed by Ashwin's googly. Thereon, Punjab dominated the game completely as they picked up frequent wickets. The Punjab bowlers bowled in tandem as neither one gave away too many runs.
KL Rahul guides Punjab past 200
Losing the toss and being put to bat first, the Punjab side had a steady start. KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal batted through the powerplay without losing a wicket. However just as Yuzvendra Chahal was introduced in the seventh over, the Bangalore trump card broke the partnership by dismissing in-form Mayank Agarwal. Pooran had a slow start but just as he looked promising Shivam Dube struck on his first delivery to dismiss the West Indies' power-hitter.
Bangalore managed to keep the wickets coming, however, KL Rahul continued to hold one end strong. The skipper unleashed havoc upon Bangalore bowlers as he amassed 74 runs off the last 4 overs. He also brought up the first century of the IPL 2020 and his second one in IPL as he guided his team past 200. The skipper has now become the highest run-scorer in the IPL and also registered the most runs scored by an Indian in a match.
Updated 23:02 IST, September 24th 2020