Daijiworld Media Network- Bengaluru

Bengaluru, Apr 19: Nehal Wadhera’s calm and composed unbeaten knock of 33 off 19 balls, backed by a spirited bowling effort, helped Punjab Kings outclass Royal Challengers Bengaluru by five wickets in a rain-curtailed, scrappy encounter at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Friday.

In a contest reduced to 14 overs per side due to persistent showers, the pitch—once known for high-scoring run-fests—turned into a sluggish, grip-heavy track that challenged batters and tested tempers. What was expected to be a firecracker of a short-format game instead became a nerve-racking, low-scoring arm-wrestle.

Put into bat, RCB found themselves on the ropes early. Left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh, who had taken only two powerplay wickets this season, turned up with renewed fire. He dismissed Phil Salt and the talismanic Virat Kohli in quick succession, climbing past Piyush Chawla to become Punjab's highest-ever wicket-taker in IPL history with 86 scalps.

The collapse continued as Rajat Patidar’s brief cameo ended at 23, while Impact Player Manoj Bhandage fell lbw to a sharp delivery from Marco Jansen. With Harpreet Brar cleaning up the tail, RCB stumbled to 63 for 9 by the 12th over.

Only Tim David stood tall amid the wreckage. Unfazed by the chaos around him, he smashed a gritty 50 off 26 balls*, peppering the field with powerful hits and ensuring RCB crawled to 95/9 in 14 overs—avoiding the embarrassment of their lowest IPL total.

Chasing a modest target, Punjab Kings’ innings started jittery. Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh offered early edges and nervy flicks, with the latter falling to a clever variation from Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

Josh Hazlewood, using the sticky surface to his advantage, bowled with precision and menace. He removed Arya and then delivered a two-ball blow—dismissing Shreyas Iyer with a rising delivery and Josh Inglis via a mistimed cut shot—to reduce PBKS to 52/4.

But it was Nehal Wadhera who kept his cool amid the chaos. Without taking undue risks, he navigated the chase with clever shot selection and opportunistic hitting. He smacked a full-toss over cow corner, guided a wide one through covers, and capitalised on a misdirected leg-break for four byes.

Though Shashank Singh holed out in a moment of desperation, Wadhera remained unflappable. With Punjab needing 15 off 15, he flicked and drove with finesse before Marcus Stoinis sealed the deal by launching a short ball over midwicket with 11 balls to spare.

Brief Scores:

• RCB: 95/9 in 14 overs (Tim David 50*; Jansen 2-10, Chahal 2-11)
• PBKS: 98/5 in 12.1 overs (Nehal Wadhera 33*; Hazlewood 3-14, Bhuvneshwar 2-26)
• Result: Punjab Kings won by 5 wickets