Virat Kohli scored his third fifty in as many chases in IPL 2025, his 73* allowing RCB to maintain their gloriously perfect record batting second this season as well as their stellar showing in fixtures away from home. With a seven-wicket win against Punjab Kings, they registered their fifth triumph away from home this season, prancing to third on the points table while Shreyas Iyer and his troops suffered a loss after consecutive wins.
What was the deciding factor?
The handling of spinners through the middle-overs. While Punjab capitulated to lose five wickets between overs 6 and 15, RCB lost only one. Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal, who has scored 180 runs this season at a strike-rate of 150 after enduring a dud of a campaign for Lucknow Super Giants in 2024, navigated this phase smoothly to ensure that PBKS could not give RCB a taste of their own medicine.
Punjab Kings continue to ace the PowerPlay
Senior pro Bhuvneshwar Kumar went for only two in the first over of the innings but once the pace of the wicket was gauged, both Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh blazed off the blocks. The next three overs reaped 39 with the boundaries coming thick and fast. To stem the run flow, RCB summoned spin and Krunal Pandya made an instant impact. The left-arm spinner had Arya caught attempting a big hit to peg Punjab back. However, Prabhsimran continued his assault, scooping Josh Hazlewood for a six as PBKS still appeared ominous with the bat.
RCB roar back into the content thanks to spin
Major dents soon after the powerplay toppled PBKS’ boat. First Prabhsimran holed out in the deep trying to take on Pandya. In the following over, Shreyas Iyer miscued a tonk off Romario Shepherd as the catch was pouched proficiently by Pandya running across to his left. Soon after, Nehal Wadhera was run out after an episode of miscommunication with Josh Inglis. Runs dried up as a result of the triple whammy, but PBKS were determined to come back and a brisk 36-run stand between Josh Inglis and Shashank Singh for the fifth wicket offered hope. Although it proved to be a lone bright spot in the middle overs for PBKS as Suyash Sharma castled Inglis and Marcus Stoinis. His spin compatriot, Pandya finished with figures of 2/25 as RCB tightened their grip on the game through quality spin.
Experienced campaigners prove hard to get away
PBKS had lost a chunk of their batting firepower by this time so the risk-taking appetite of the lower order had shrank. That, coupled with accurate yorkers from Bhuvneshwar and Hazlewood, meant only 28 runs came off the final four.
Smacking them with ease 🤌
Virat Kohli is in the mood to finish this early 🔥
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— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 20, 2025
RCB start on a steady note
The pitch in Mullanpur wasn’t a featherbed, and with Phil Salt being bounced out by Arshdeep Singh in the very first over, RCB ran the risk of a slowdown upfront. Devdutt Padikkal and Virat Kohli, albeit, managed to keep a healthy run-rate going right through. A pull and a straight drive got Kohli’s feet moving while Padikkal was bossing his shot-selection too as RCB endeavored to put the chase back on track.
Padikkal, Kohli guide RCB through the middle phase
Unlike Punjab who fell to the wayside in this phase, RCB were able to straddle the line between caution and aggression. Via a 103-run alliance for the second wicket, both Padikkal and Kohli ensured that RCB’s chase never trailed off course. Padikkal accomplished his first IPL fifty in 22 innings while Kohli composed his 59th IPL fifty off 43 balls, anchoring the chase like he so often does.
RCB stride to the finish line with ease
Kohli upped the ante with the chase approaching its business end, hitting crucial boundaries against Arshdeep Singh and Chahal that handed RCB control over the asking rate. His 34-run stand with Rajat Patidar ensured that there were no closing-out jitters. Although Patidar fell to Chahal, Jitesh Sharma took the visitors over the line with a gigantic six.
