IPL 2020: KXIP vs RCB Review – Punjab do the double over Bangalore, arrest losing streak

Kings XI Punjab on Thursday (October 15) finally managed to win their second game of IPL 2020. They defeated the Royal Challengers Bangalore by eight wickets. This is KXIP’s only second win of the season, their first win also incidentally coming against Kohli’s men.

The margin of the defeat, however, doesn’t tell the full story. The chase strangely went down to the final ball with KL Rahul and Chris Gayle, despite being set, unable to seal the game earlier. It was all smiles in the end as they got over the line off with Nicholas Pooran’s last-ball six. Gayle and Rahul scored half-centuries in the 172-run chase while Agarwal played a stroke-filled knock 45 off just 25 balls.

Earlier, RCB started decently after opting to bat first. Aaron Finch and Devdutt Padikkal added 38 runs for the first wicket. But the innings slowed down considerably later on and the Punjab spinners bowled well. Virat Kohli stayed in the middle for 39 balls but scored only 48 runs with three fours. It was only due to Chris Morris’ 25* off 8 that they managed to post 171/6 in 20 overs.

Turning Points

AB de Villiers batting at No.6: In T20 cricket, your best batsman has to face most of the deliveries. But for some reason, AB de Villiers batted at six for RCB in this game and scored only 2 runs. He should’ve batted at four after scoring 73* off 33 in the last game at the same venue. But RCB thought of maintaining the left-right combination with two leg-spinners in the KXIP bowling attack. The move backfired, as admitted by the RCB skipper, as they didn’t get the final push required for a huge total at a ground like Sharjah.

KXIP openers’ stand: The Punjab openers KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal were once again brilliant in the Powerplay. They took the attack to the opposition from the word go and made sure that they were always ahead in the chase. Even though the pitch slowed down later, the required run-rate wasn’t out of hands thanks to the scintillating start. While Agarwal slammed fell five short of his fifty, Rahul stood in the middle till the end alongside the Universe Boss.

Top performers

Records/Personal Milestones

• Yuzvendra Chahal completed 200 wickets in T20 cricket
• Virat Kohli became the first player to play 200 T20 matches for a single team

Way Ahead

RCB have a quick turn-around as they are set to face the Rajasthan Royals on Saturday afternoon in Dubai, while KXIP will lock horns against Mumbai Indians on Sunday evening at the same venue.