Sports

IPL 2024: Virat Kohli masterclass, Dinesh Karthik finishing touch takes RCB to first win as Punjab Kings implode at the end

March 26, 2024
S K Mittal

Synopsis: After being dropped on 0, Virat Kohli rebounds with stellar knock, with cameos from Dinesh Karthik and Mahipal Lomror adding the finishing touch, as Royal Challengers Bengaluru beat Punjab Kings, who lost their composure at the death.

“There’s a bit in it (the pitch) for the bowlers” and “things can get tough with the new ball” were a couple of cliches used by Sam Curran during the mid-match television interview to describe how Punjab Kings were hoping to defend 176 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Monday.

Here’s another cliche that Curran was agonisingly made aware of a few minutes later – take your chances, or the top players make you pay.

Curran was skipper Shikhar Dhawan’s pick from an array of high-profile fast-bowling options to take the new ball, and his left-arm angle against the right-hander tested Virat Kohli from the get-go – the Indian batting star managed a thick outside edge on the second ball of the chase that was put down at slip by Jonny Bairstow, whose average Test tour of India has, it seems, extended into the IPL.

Kohli made Punjab pay immediately, middling three boundaries, a flick of the pads and two fluent cover drives, in the next four balls. By the end of the Powerplay, Kohli had meted out punishment to each of their frontline bowlers, and despite two key wickets, put up 34 of his side’s total of 50 to set them on their way to a four-wicket win.

Riding his luck, the former India skipper played an innings that was a statement for his credentials for the upcoming T20 World Cup. Speculation may be rife over whether he will feature in that event, but Kohli as an opener, when he can find holes in the field for boundaries, seems to be a genuine option when he bats with intent and aggression. Rewatch his lofted off-drives off Kagiso Rabada and Arshdeep Singh, or the ease with which he dispatched Rahul Chahar for a six over the off-side, for proof of the same.

Yet, despite chasing an average total, and their chase-master getting a slice of fortune on his way to a well-worked 49-ball 77, once Kohli holed out at deep backward point, RCB looked like they were out of the reckoning.

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Punjab lose control

It was Punjab’s formidable bowling line-up that applied the squeeze on RCB and didn’t allow them to settle. Left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar’s tight spell of 2-13 (50 percent dots and no boundaries conceded) was the pick of the bowling effort and promised to take the match away from the hosts.

However, when Punjab had all the momentum in their favour, they crumbled under the pressure of closing out the match. Curran, Harshal Patel, and Arshdeep all missed their lines and lengths, allowed free runs as extras, and failed to bowl to their field. Dinesh Karthik and impact player Mahipal Lomror will get the plaudits, but ascribing this result to their calculations and ingenuity, as opposed to blaming the loose death bowling from Punjab, would miss the point.

Curran went for 30 from his three-over spell. Arshdeep went for 24 from his last eight balls. Harshal went for 24 from his last two overs as RCB came home with four balls to spare.

Keeping it short

If there was vindication needed of the newly-introduced two-bouncers-per-over rule in the IPL, it came in the effectiveness of the RCB bowling lineup on Monday.

Each of the Punjab Kings batters got starts, but RCB’s pacers made sure none ran away with the game on a pitch that is known to be a belter. The disruption in rhythm, and regular wickets, all came thanks to some well-directed short bowling.

It was Mohammed Siraj who opened the floodgates, sticking to his guns despite seeing two balls dispatched for four, deceiving Bairstow with one that the Ebglishman top-edged to get caught at mid-off.

After a solid anchor-style innings from skipper Shikhar Dhawan was aided by a useful cameo from Prabhsimran Singh, Punjab were in a solid position as Dhawan and Liam Livingstone kept the scorecard ticking to reach 96/2 after the 11th over.

But Alzarri Joseph would go back to the short-ball playbook, dragging Livingstone into an attempted cut at a wide and short one, getting an edge to wicketkeeper Anuj Rawat.

With set batters back in the dugout, Curran and Jitesh Sharma – two batters that have built a formidable reputation as finishers – had to put in the hard yards to build a partnership. Both would perish to shorter balls, with the ‘keeper taking splendid catches off the bowling of Yash Dayal and Siraj.

On a batting-friendly pitch, RCB’s fast bowlers did not let Punjab’s strong middle order take control with expert use of the short ball. If not for a freak of a final over – Shashank Singh’s blind swinging slapping Joseph for over 20 – they would have restricted their opposition to a score well below par.

Brief scores: Punjab Kings 176/6 in 20 overs (Shikhar Dhawan 45; Mohammed Siraj 2/26) lost to Royal Challengers Bengaluru 178/6 in 19.2 overs (Virat Kohli 77, Dinesh Karthik 28 not out; Harpreet Brar 2/13, Kagiso Rabada 2/23) by 4 wickets

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