Maxwell, Chahal Crush Punjab's Hopes As Bangalore Storms Into IPL Playoffs

Cricket Image for Maxwell, Chahal Crush Punjab's Hopes As Bangalore Storms Into IPL Playoffs (Image Source: Google)

Glenn Maxwell with the bat and Yuzvendra Chahal with the ball guided Royal Challengers Bangalore to a six-run win against Punjab Kings in Sharjah on Sunday. 

Chasing a target of 165, KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal once again gave a perfect start to the team as PBKS scored 49 inside the powerplay without losing any wicket. 

The two continued to smash the RCB bowlers all around the park as they added 91 runs for the opening wicket in 66 balls. It was looking one-way road before Shahbaz Ahmed gave the much-needed breakthrough in the form of Rahul. 

The dismissal saw Punjab's middle-order collapsing yet again. From 91/0, Kings got reduced to 127/5. Mayank top-scored with 57 off 42 but couldn't take the game till the end. The collapse was triggered by Chahal's three wickets, who removed Mayank, Nicholas Pooran, and Sarfaraz Khan. 

Shahrukh Khan and Aiden Markram tried but couldn't much as Punjab fell short by six runs. The win meant RCB qualified for IPL playoffs while PBKS chances got strongly hit. 

Earlier, Bangalore opted to bat first on a fresh Sharjah pitch. Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal got RCB to a flier, scoring 55 inside the powerplay without losing any wicket. 

The introduction of Moises Henriques brought the end of Kohli, and Daniel Christian on the very next delivery. Padikkal scored 40 before Henriques got him out as well. 

However, it was the beginning of Glenn Maxwell's show, who along with AB de Villiers, added 73 in 39 balls for the fourth wicket. De Villiers slammed 23 off 17 while Maxwell reached yet another IPL fifty. 

The last over saw Mohammed Shami taking three wickets as RCB could only push the score to 164/7 in the first inning. 

Brief Scorecard: 

Royal Challengers Bangalore - 164/7 (Glenn Maxwell - 57; Moises Henriques - 3/12)
Punjab Kings - 158/6 (Mayank Agarwal - 57; Yuzvendra Chahal - 3/29)