Royal Challengers Bangalore on Monday wore a shocked look as they had lost yet another game at home. Chasing 228 to win, the Bangalore outfit were well in command as Faf Du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell led the fightback. After that close loss, Bangalore travelled to Mohali to take on Punjab Kings in the afternoon game on Thursday.
The story so far –
Punjab Kings skipper Sam Curran, won the toss and chose to bowl first. The home team made two changes as Nathan Ellis and Liam Livingstone came into the team. RCB meanwhile had Kohli as the captain because it was said Faf Du Plessis was unfit to field due to an injury.
Mohammad Siraj runs out Harpreet Singh Bhatia –
Having been set 175 to win, Punjab Kings had already lost their top three batters pretty quick. The eyes of the fans was on Harpreet Singh Bhatia and Prabhsimran Singh for a fightback.
The incident in question happened in the 3rd ball of the 6th over. Vyshak was bowling to Prabhsimran Singh as the youngster came down the track. Singh, couldn’t time the ball as the ball travelled to Siraj who ran out Bhatia who had already run for a single and couldn’t get back in time.
Siraj and Kohli lead animated celebration –
Harpreet Singh Bhatia was out for 13 off 9 balls with one four and a six to his name. Mohammad Siraj was overjoyed as he did a Cristiano Ronaldo celebration. Virat Kohli, meanwhile was nearly in the batter’s face as he was celebrating wildly.
Punjab’s struggles with the bat continues –
Shikhar Dhawan has been one of the biggest reasons for Punjab Kings early success this season. Atharva Taide fell for 4 as Matthew Short scored 8 before getting castled by Hasaranga. Siraj got the wicket of Taide before getting the wicket of comeback man Liam Livingstone. Both the batters were out LBW, as Sam Curran was run out for 10 thanks to smart piece of work by Hasaranga.
Twitter reacts –
The run out of Harpreet Singh Bhatia had the fans taking to Twitter as they took to the social media site and gave their views.
Bulls-eye 🎯
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 20, 2023
You cannot keep @mdsirajofficial out of action today 😃
Follow the match ▶️ https://t.co/CQekZNsh7b#TATAIPL | #PBKSvRCB pic.twitter.com/djPG0wSIBA
Another Wicket for Siraj. Siraj is having a dream run with the new ball in the white ball formats. Such a beautiful sight seeing him bowling in this rhythm. #PBKSvRCB #PBKSvsRCB #ViratKohli
— CricEvents (@cricevents) April 20, 2023
You need to appreciate the captaincy of replacing siraj with hasranga for the third over...
— Ajay Bhatt (@ajju_2022) April 20, 2023
Skipper at his best...#ViratKohli𓃵 #ipl#rcbvspbks
#RCBvsPBKS #ViratKohli
— Hemant (@Sportscasmm) April 20, 2023
Virat the captain, Siraj asks for review BUT this time it works....pic.twitter.com/PExoinPkrp