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With that, we come to the conclusion of our coverage of the 2024 Indian Premier League for the day. We'll be back with more of the same tomorrow evening as the Chennai Super Kings return to action at their own den - taking on the Gujarat Titans, who go into the contest having defeated another 5-time IPL champion in the Mumbai Indians. Join us right here on Sportskeeda for our coverage of the game, and of course, a lot more! This is Rajarshi Das, signing off on behalf of Pradeep Somasekhar. Good night - see you tomorrow!
Ah well. Chinnaswamy and riveting contests - one of the ideal recipes to set the tone for a sumptuous tournament! A Virat Kohli-special, topped by finishing touches from Dinesh Karthik and Mahipal Lomror hand RCB's first points in 2024. Not quite the contest we had in mind - the wicket at the Chinnaswamy played its tricks. The Punjab Kings almost made a game out of their total of 176, but they faltered at the death. Both sides return to match action later this week - RCB will meet the Kolkata Knight Riders on their own turf, while the Punjab Kings will head up north to face the Lucknow Super Giants at the Ekana.
Virat Kohli makes one final appearance tonight - much to the delight of the crowd - this time to collect his Player Of The Match award! He's also been handed the Orange cap, and here's what he has to say: Don't get too overexcited (As the crowd goes wild) I know, it's only been two games. It's been going on for years. (On his attachment with the franchise and its supporters) People talk about a lot of things when you play sports - the achievements, the stats, the numbers, at the end of the day, when you look back, it's the memories that you create. Rahul bhai (Dravid) says the exact same thing to us in the dressing room. You're going to miss these times in the dressing room when you play your heart out. The relationship that's happened organically over the years is something I can never forget. Just the love, appreciation and backing I've received. It's amazing. In T20 cricket, I try to give the team a blazing start. You've got to understand the conditions as well. The wicket wasn't as placid as Bangalore is, it is a bit two-paced. I thought I had to play proper cricketing shots, I tried a few across the line. I just felt I needed a couple of big hits from the other end, and then, maybe I can get another big over. Didn't happen - Maxi and Anuj got out back-to-back, that really hurt us. I was disappointed I couldn't finish the game, that ball was in the slot. Ended up slicing it straight to deep point. Not a bad start, playing after two months getting into the tournament. They know I play the cover drive pretty well, so they were not going to give me gaps. Guys like KG (Rabada), and Arshdeep as well, he's tall. Once you're closer to the ball, you negate that bounce, you meet it earlier. You need to come up with a game plan every now and then. I know my name is nowadays quite attached to promoting the game in many parts of the world when it comes to T20 cricket. Still got it, I guess. We were not in the country, at a place where people were not recognizing us. Just time together as a family, just to feel normal for two months. For us as a family was a surreal experience. Having two kids makes things completely different from a family perspective. Just to be together, the connections that you make with your older child... I could not have been more grateful to God for the time to spend with my family. When we came back, the voices felt that more loud. I was not used to my name being so called so much in those two months, so it hit again. It was beautiful, an amazing experience to be just another person on the road. I don't play for caps or anything to be honest, it's an opportunity to help my team, that's the only thing I have given to the Indian team and the RCB, and that's the promise I can give here. Not the Orange Cap, but I'll keep turning up and keep trying my best. Thank you, cheers.
Faf du Plessis, Royal Challengers Bengaluru captain: On the outside, not as much on the inside. You want to make sure you get over the line, I felt we were in a position where we could have done it a lot sooner. Great to see the boys play at the back end, especially the old horse DK. We had Mahipal (Lomror) still coming in with the new rule, we felt like we had an extra batter in the tank - in the past, 12 runs in the last over would have been tough. With an extra batter, 30 off 2 becomes a reality. Pleased for him (Karthik) for the way he started this competition. Really important for someone like him to get his IPL going, in order for his confidence to grow. That sets him up for the rest of the tournament. Lots of games, we desperately need his experience. It'll be very valuable. There was a plan in the auction to try and find a DNA for this place. This is a unique ground, the pitch was a little different. Someone like a Virat was really important for us because this was not a normal pitch. Good to see him (Virat), still very passionate about playing cricket, had a nice break, once you get to the back end, it's important to come in fresh.
Dinesh Karthik: (DK felt rusty the other night, did the rust has come off?) Little bit, getting there, not completely in control but I'm getting there. We needed that, Rawat batted well last time, he got out as soon as I walked in and Mahipal took the pressure off me, that six he hit was crucial and batted really well under pressure. (About Harshal's slower ones) He's a wiley customer, dipping slower one and you need to wait for the right moment to play. I didn't say anything, he was calm and when he hit the six, I told him, stay still and keep the still head and the rest will follow through. I start for bowling for RCB and can imagine what the situation for us (chuckles)
Shikhar Dhawan (Punjab Kings captain): It was a good game, we pulled the game back in our favour, but we were 10 or 15 runs short but other than that we were good. Of course, Virat scored 70 odd runs and we paid the price with that dropped catch, the momentum would've followed us right from the start. It looked good, wasn't a true wicket, had variable bounce, 70% it was coming good, but 30% it was tough. I could've played bit more quickly in the powerplay, that's the only thing I felt and we felt too many wickets and put pressure on us. We took the game till the last over, we could've bowled better at the end. Brar is bowling really well, left-handers in the small grounds, he's soaked in the pressure and got us back in the game.
Match summary:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru win by 4 wickets with 4 balls to spare
Dinesh Karthik applauds the crowd as he makes his way back to his shed. He thrives in these situations - the Royal Challengers Bengaluru outfit and the local crowd were momentarily fazed after Virat Kohli's departure, but trust a veteran to get the job done! Mahipal Lomror's timely introduction as an impact sub had its own benefits as well - he had license to have a swing at anything that came in his way. He did, fetching 10 off 2, and in the process, helped the home side gather some momentum back!
Truth be told, the Punjab Kings sure did put up a fight and a half. Dhawan was spot on with some of his on-field decisions - his ploy to use Harpreet Brar as a match-up against the likes of Kohli and Maxwell, and then his decision to place Brar at the perfect area for Harshal Patel to execute his wide yorker ploy to perfection and get Kohli to hole out. But once Lomror and Karthik got going, the momentum was always going to shift towards RCB, and eventually, the pressure got to the Kings bowlers at the death.
As it turned out, the wicket seemed a touch trickier than what it seemed initially. But the Royal Challengers Bengaluru outfit, as has been the case over all these years, have had one man to fall back to in such situations and expect the best out of him. Virat Kohli looked the absolute part for most of the run-chase - he began with a bang, smashing 8 out of his first 15 deliveries to the boundary.
The Kings struck back twice in the powerplay in between - Rabada rushed du Plessis and Green for pace and kept his side in the hunt. Patidar and Kohli looked to control the run-chase over the middle overs, but a sudden rush of blood from Patidar got the better of him. He and Glenn Maxwell fell trying to attack Harpreet Brar, who proceeded to choke the runs down from his end, and keep the Kings in the game.
Kohli looked to break free right after Brar was done, but Harshal Patel got the better of him by dishing out a wide yorker and getting him to slice it down the throat of Brar wide of third man. Rawat fell the next over, and the RCB outfit, having refrained from subbing anyone in until then, decided to utilize Lomror's left-handed batting services. Lomror did not disappoint - Arshdeep went for 13 in the 18th over as Lomror launched into him.
With just under 12 needed in the last two overs, it was a case of finding the odd boundary or two to get the equation down in favour. Dinesh Karthik did just that - he took the game by the scruff of his neck, and RCB were past the finishing line with time to spare. Time for the presentations now...
The cleanest of hits down the ground to seal it! Job done for Dinesh Karthik, and RCB are off the mark!
19.2 Arshdeep Singh to Dinesh Karthik, FOUR! GAME OVER! Dinesh Karthik is the man to do it for RCB tonight, they register their first win of the season and the home team winning streak continues in IPL 2024. Length delivery on the stumps, in the slot and DK slams it back past the bowler, races away to long-on ropes to seal the game.
19.2 Arshdeep Singh to Dinesh Karthik, WIDE! Full and Arshdeep looks to angled it wide of off-stump but goes outside the tramline in the end, has been called a wide. RCB need 3 now!