IPL 2023: Punjab Kings vs Royal Challengers Bangalore Match 27 - Talking Points and Who Said What?

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) got back to winning ways after emerging victorious against Punjab Kings (PBKS) by 24 runs. The two sides squared off in Match 27 of the ongoing IPL 2023 at the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali on Thursday, April 20.

Notably, Faf du Plessis’ impressive knock of 84 runs coupled with Virat Kohli’s 59 helped RCB attain 174 runs. In reply, PBKS were handed blows at regular intervals which eventually cost them the match despite some fight by Jitesh Sharma.

Here are the Talking Points of the PBKS vs RCB clash-

Faf du Plessis dazzles with the bat despite injury 

Despite picking a rib injury in the previous outing against CSK, Faf excelled with the bat against Punjab, putting on a sensational show. The flamboyant right-hander started off delicately but eventually picked up and got the big runs.

Faf notched up his half-century off 31 balls and was aided by Virat Kohli, who also got his fifty off 40 balls. On a slow wicket, Faf dazzled with the bat as he concluded his innings with a score of 84 runs off 56 balls, maintaining a decent strike rate of 150 which included five sixes and as many fours. With this, RCB eventually posted a competitive first innings score of 174 runs.

Jitesh Sharma fights hard during chase

In reply to the total, RCB extended their domination as they got the breakthroughs at regular intervals to keep PBKS reeling in the chase. Prabhsimran Singh put his best foot forward and got 46 runs off 30 balls but was eventually sent back to the dugout.

With the wickets falling in quick time, PBKS saw the game almost slipping off their hands. However, down the order, Jitesh Sharma played a blazing knock of 41 runs off 27 balls to help revive the contest for PBKS. He cracked three maximums and two fours in his quick cameo but eventually succumbed under pressure to hand RCB the win. 

Mohammed Siraj wreaks havoc with four-wicket haul

Siraj proved to be instrumental for RCB in their defense as he not only got the breakthroughs but also came in handy to restrict the rival team from scoring big. In his four overs, the pacer returned with a four-wicket haul and gave away mere 21 runs. Adding to this, he also got the vital run out of Harpreet Singh in the middle-order to keep RCB ahead in the contest.

Losing Captain, Sam Curran said-

I thought we bowled really well as a group. The way Faf and Virat played was good. I did not think they got away from us too much. In the end, we just did not bat well enough. They bowled pretty well as well but we lost wickets. The conditions were quite strange as well. we thought it would rain at one stage, with all the lightning and thunder. (On the pitch) It was a really good wicket with good-sized boundaries, you want a fair contest between bat and ball. Just a couple of things with the bat that we might regret but we move on to Saturday. The games come thick and fast, so it is about learning from this.

Winning captain, Virat Kohli said-

This (win) does not make us an invincible team or the league position before today did not make us a bad team. The table cannot define your mood, when you have just played five or six games. Maintain our processes and stay in the moment. In the first half, the conditions changed drastically. Faf batted outstandingly well. We thought of extending our partnership for as long as possible so that it could give us an extra 20 runs. After overs 7-8, as soon as the ball was getting bashed into the square, the ball really started getting scuffed up. We changed our strategy then to bat deeper. Had we stayed in, we could have given a crack at 190-200. We felt 175 was a good score on this pitch. I told them that was more than enough. All we had to do was be confident and hold the ball in hand looking to get wickets. The way you win games in T20 cricket is by taking wickets. At the half-way stage, the idea was to take the game to the opposition in the first six overs. We broke the game open right there and our fielding was brilliant as well.

Player of the Match, Mohammed Siraj said-

The first ball was a little short. Then, I tried to bowl a little fuller because I was getting shape. If I pick wickets in the powerplay, the opposition is put under pressure. The lockdown was very important for me. I was quite down before that because I used to be expensive earlier. I focussed on my gym training, on my bowling and I wanted to do well. Even in the ODIs, my rhythm was good, my confidence was high and I have brought that into this season of the IPL. I am a good fielder; I just make a few mistakes once in a while (smiles). I always try to keep improving on every aspect so that I can remain a part of the team.