After Royal Challengers Bengaluru defeated Punjab Kings by eight wickets in a lopsided qualifier to reach the 10-team final, Virat Kohli edged closer to winning his first-ever Indian Premier League title.
Bengaluru were only 102 short of the required score for Sunday’s final due to their bowlers’ outstanding performance on Thursday, which gave them just 10 overs before opener Phil Salt, who led the charge with a score of 56 not out.
If Punjab can defeat Mumbai Indians’ Eliaser on Friday in the final, the team can still advance to the final.
Kohli has been Bengaluru’s top scorer this season, scoring 12 goals.
Since the league’s inception in 2008, the former India captain has been a part of the franchise. In 2009, 2011, and 2016, Bengaluru made it to the finals, but they each lost in three of those three games.
Salt remarked, “It’s a great feeling right now.” We had a second bite of the cherry, of course, but it’s a great feeling to get that out of the way first.
Simply put, it gives us that momentum. At the tail end of the tournament, it’s a cliche, but it’s so true.
Bengaluru have shown themselves to be formidable this year.
Their fiery pace attack, led by a returning Josh Hazlewood, bundled out Punjab in 14.1 overs.
At the halfway point of their innings, Hazlewood led Bengaluru’s superb pace display, which saw them defeat Punjab to 71-7.
Rival skipper Shreyas Iyer was one of Hazlewood’s (3-21) victims, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar took Prabhsimran Singh’s most notable wicket this season.
Suyash Sharma, who claimed 3-17 in his final three overs, sent leg-spinner Marcus Stoinis to make 26 before losing his stumps.
In their six powerplay overs, Bengaluru jumped to 61-1 in the fourth over, a 48-4 victory for Punjab, with Salt striking boundaries almost at will.
Source: Aljazeera
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