Who won yesterday's IPL match 2022, PBKS vs RCB - Match 3?

The Punjab Kings (PBKS) defeated the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by five wickets in yesterday's IPL match at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Sunday.

Odean Smith played a scintillating cameo off 25* in 8 balls to lift PBKS over the line with an over to spare in a chase of 206. Punjab went into the last three overs needing 36. However, Smith flayed Mohammed Siraj for three sixes and a four in the 18th over to completely swing the game PBKS’ way. Shahrukh Khan (24* off 20) played the finisher’s role to perfection, smacking Harshal Patel for a six and the match-winning four.

PBKS got off to a solid start in a tough chase, reaching 97 for 1 at the halfway stage. There was plenty of action in the powerplay as Mayank Agarwal and Shikhar Dhawan hit some attractive boundaries. However, the latter was also let off twice by RCB keeper Dinesh Karthik.

In the fifth over, Dhawan charged down the track to David Willey and missed the ball, but the keeper couldn’t gather the ball cleanly. In the next over, the left-hander top-edged a slog-sweep off Shahbaz Ahmed towards backward short leg. Karthik put in a full-length dive but could not complete the catch after managing to get his gloves to it.

Wanindu Hasaranga broke a dangerous opening stand with his first ball in the eighth over. PBKS skipper Agarwal (32) whacked a short ball from the leg-spinner straight into the hands of square leg. Bhanuka Rajapaksa then joined Dhawan and the duo found a few boundaries in quick succession to keep Punjab in the hunt. The 11th over, bowled by Akash Deep, saw Dhawan and Rajapaksa combine to take 19 runs. Harshal, however, struck to break the dangerous partnership. He had Dhawan (43) caught at cover off a slower ball.

Rajapaksa, who took a liking to fellow Sri Lankan Hasaranga, clubbing him for two sixes and a four, fell to Siraj for a blazing 43 off 22 balls. The aggressive left-hander cut a length ball outside off straight to the man in the circle. Siraj was on a hat-trick after U19 World Cup hero Raj Bawa (0) missed a full toss and was trapped right in front of the stumps.

With the equation getting tougher, Liam Livingstone perished for 19 off 10, looking for a big hit against Akash Deep. At that point, RCB seemed favorites to win before Smith gave an excellent demonstration of why he is rated so highly.

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Faf du Plessis hammers 88 as RCB post 205 for 2 against PBKS

RCB skipper Faf du Plessis during his knock of 88. Pic: IPLT20.COM

Faf du Plessis smashed a sizzling 88 of 57 balls in his first match as RCB skipper as the franchise put up an imposing 205 for 2 after being sent into bat by PBKS. Virat Kohli contributed an unbeaten 41 in 29 balls, while Dinesh Karthik played a blazing cameo of 32* in 14 to provide the finishing touches to the innings.

RCB got off to a slow start as Du Plessis and Anuj Rawat (21 off 20) added 50 in seven overs. The captain could have perished in the fourth over but Shahrukh Khan dropped him at midwicket. The partnership was broken when Rahul Chahar cleaned up Rawat as the batter went for a heave. At the halfway stage of the innings, Du Plessis was on 17 off 30 balls. But once he opened up, there was no stopping him.

He opened his arms by flaying Liam Livingstone for a maximum over long-on in the 12th over. In the next over by Odean Smith, he hammered a four and two sixes off consecutive deliveries. The second maximum came via a paddle over fine leg off a full toss and also brought up the Bangalore captain’s half-century.

The 37-year-old then swatted left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar for two more sixes, while Kohli also launched one over the bowler’s head as 21 runs came off the over – the 14th of the innings. Du Plessis ended up whacking seven sixes and three fours in his innings before perishing to Arshdeep Singh, looking for another big hit. Shahrukh took a well-judged catch at long-off this time, but his drop earlier in the innings had hurt the IPL team massively.

There was no respite for Punjab’s bowlers even after Du Plessis’ exit as Karthik came in and played some cheeky strokes to take RCB past 200. Kohli was content applauding the carnage from the other end, striking one four and two sixes in between.

IPL 2022, PBKS vs RCB: Who won Man of the Match yesterday?

RCB skipper Du Plessis was sensational with his clean-hitting, once again proving what a dangerous T20 batter he is. His knock was primarily responsible for taking the team past 200. Kohli and Karthik made good contributions as well.

Amid the carnage, two PBKS bowlers held their ground. Leggie Chahar was most impressive with 1 for 22, while Arshdeep yet again made an impact with 1 for 31. With the bat, there were good contributions all round for Punjab. Dhawan and Rajapaksa maintained the desired tempo, scoring brisk 40s, before Smith stole the match from RCB.

Smith was named the Player of the Match for his sparkling 8-ball cameo.