Mohali: Bottom-placed Kings XI Punjab defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore by 22 runs in a rain-curtailed Indian Premier League match at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium here on Wednesday.
Punjab remained at the foot of the standings with six points from 13 matches despite the win. Bangalore stayed in fifth spot with 13 points from 12 matches.
Chasing a target of 107 runs in 10 overs, RCB managed only 84 for six. They sent their two destructive batsmen West Indian Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli to open the innings.
They began briskly picking up boundaries at every possible opportunity. But Kohli was dismissed for 19 while trying to force the pace in the third over.
Gayle (17) soon followed his skipper, getting caught while trying a big shot to reduce RCB to 44 for two in 4.4 overs.
With two of their best ball-strikers gone, the onus was on another renowned power-hitter, South African AB de Villiers, to lead RCB’s cause.
But he departed for 10, putting RCB in a spot of bother at 67 for three in 6.4 overs.
They never recovered from the blow and lost wickets regularly to fall short of the target by 22 runs.
Earlier, Punjab posted 106/6 in 10 overs.
The toss was held at 10.30pm, three hours later than the scheduled start time. It reduced the match to a 10-over per side contest.
Kohli won the toss and elected to bowl.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha was promoted up the order to open the batting with Manan Vohra, who scored 11 in six balls.
Bengal’s right-handed batsman Saha made most of the opportunity, hitting 31 in just 12 balls. His knock included five fours and a six.
Australia’s World Cup hero Glenn Maxwell’s poor form continued as he made only 10 runs.
Later, South African left-hander David Miller made 14 off four balls while skipper George Bailey and hit 13 in nine deliveries.
Young Indian all-rounder Axar Patel remained unbeaten and contributed 20 runs from 15 balls.
For the visitors, spinner Yuzvendra Chahal and right-arm medium pacer Harshal Patel took two wickets each, while left-arm pacer Mictell Starc got one wicket.
