The English pair of Jonny Bairstow and Liam Livingstone were on point for Punjab Kings (PBKS) as the side ran riot over Royal Challengers Bangalore and condemned them to a 54-run loss during their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 fixture at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on Friday, May 13.
Punjab Kings bowlers on point
The PBKS bowlers set the stage for an easy victory for their team and did not give the RCB batters a chance to settle down while chasing a mammoth total of 210 runs for the win. Once again, it was South African Kagiso Rabada who shone for PBKS, picking up three wickets, including those of Virat Kohli and the dangerous Shahbaz Ahmed, while giving away only 21 runs in his stipulated four overs. His economy rate was a miserly 5.25.
Rabada was ably supported by Rishi Dhawan (2/26) and Rahul Chahar (2/27) as the PBKS bowlers stifled the RCB batters and limited them to just 155 runs while dismissing nine of their players.
RCB batter falter yet again
Bangalore have been among the better teams in IPL 2022, but their batting has been questionable on certain occasions this season. Having won their last two matches — 13 runs against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and then Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by 67 runs — a lot was expected from the RCB batters. But they failed to perform yet again.
King Kohli was dismissed for just 20 runs by Rabada, who is taking the former India skipper's wicket for the fourth time. It was a DRS call that scalped his wicket, with the ball nudging Kohli's glove and flying into the hands of Rahul Chahar for Rabada's first wicket of the game.
Jonny Bairstow joins the party for PBKS
Earlier in the game, opener Bairstow was the best of two batters on the night, hitting a lovely 66 runs off 29 balls, and striking the ball at a rate of 227.58. It was a second consecutive half-century for Bairstow, who started the season on a slow note but has done well ever since he was promoted to the opener's role ahead of skipper Mayank Agarwal.
The English star's innings included four fours and seven sixes as the Punjab Kings set an unassailable target for their opponents in what turned out to be an easy win for PBKS.
Liam Livingstone at it again!
While Jonny Bairstow set the platform for a 200-plus score with some brilliant pinch-hitting, it was the dependable Livingstone who finished the innings for his team with a 42-ball 70 at a strike rate of 166.66. This was the Englishman's best score in the ongoing IPL 2022 season and carried his team to an above par score with the Bangalore batters found extremely hard to surpass.
