What happened the last time PBKS played RCB in an IPL match in Dharamsala?

The 58th match of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 will witness a clash between the Punjab Kings and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) Stadium in Dharamsala. The two sides will square off on Thursday, May 9.

The venue has been playing host to IPL matches this year for the first time since 2013. PBKS, after playing their initial home games at the newly built Maharaja Yadavindra Singh Stadium in Mullanpur, Mohali, shifted bases to Dharamsala.

As the tournament approaches its business end, PBKS are all set to host RCB for their upcoming encounter. The last time these two teams clashed in an IPL match in Dharamsala was way back in 2013, when PBKS (then Kings XI Punjab) was led by Adam Gilchrist and RCB (then Royal Challengers Bangalore) was led by Virat Kohli.

In that game, the hosts won the toss and opted to put runs on board first. They faced an early setback as Paul Valthaty was dismissed in the powerplay courtesy of Charl Langeveldt. What followed next was absolute carnage by the home skipper and top-order batter Shaun Marsh.

Gilchrist and Marsh took the opposition bowlers to the cleaners and went on to notch up their respective half-centuries. Towards the end of the first innings, the former managed to go past the three-figure mark and ended up hitting 106 runs off 55 deliveries before being dismissed on the penultimate ball.

Gilchrist’s knock included eight fours and nine sixes as he struck at 192.72. Marsh played a beautiful innings as well, and walked back unbeaten scoring 79 off 49, including seven fours and five sixes. Courtesy of the 206-run second-wicket partnership between the Aussie duo, Punjab posted a humungous 232/2 in their allotted 20 overs.

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PBKS bowled out RCB for 121 to win by 111 runs

RCB had a horrid start to their chase as the top-order batting unit faltered inside the powerplay and they were reduced to 34/3 in six overs. Punjab bowlers kept picking wickets at regular intervals, with Piyush Chawla acting as the wrecker in chief. The leg spinner picked up a four-wicket haul and registered figures of 4/17 in his four-over quota.

Ryan Harris (3 wickets), Shalabh Srivastava (2 wickets), and Valthaty (1) contributed equally well as RCB were held to 121 in 17 overs. As a result, the Adam Gilchrist-led side bagged a massive 111-run win.

In the ongoing IPL 2024, both PBKS and RCB are vying for a spot in the playoff amid tight competition from several other teams in contention. While the latter are placed eighth, the former are just above them at seventh place. Both teams have eight points from 11 games played so far but RCB have a better NRR as compared to PBKS.

With the competition increasing with every passing game, RCB and PBKS will have to win all their remaining encounters to remain in contention for a spot in the top four.