Captain Virat Kohli hit a crucial 67 to guide his Royal Challengers side to their first win of the IPL season on Saturday after six straight defeats.
Chris Gayle smashed an unbeaten 99 to take Kings XI Punjab to 173-4 off their 20 overs, putting extra pressure on Kohli’s team who have made an error-strewn start to the campaign.
But the India skipper plundered early runs (67) to put Bangalore on course. Even after the run rate eased, South African veteran AB de Villiers (59) and Australian Marcus Stoinis (28) reached the target in the final over to provide a morale-boosting eight-wicket win.
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Bangalore’s six earlier losses had equalled the record for the worst start to an IPL season.
Here’s a look at the statistical highlights from the match between Kings XI Punjab and Royal Challengers Bangalore.
- Virat Kohli surpassed Suresh Raina to become the highest Indian scorer in T20 cricket. Kohli, who notched 67 runs off 53 balls, went past Raina’s record of 8,145 runs. Kohli has scored 8,175 runs in 259 matches.
- The Kings XI Punjab recorded their fifth highest Powerplay score against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL. KL Rahul and Chris Gayle put up 60 runs in six overs.
{{/usCountry}}- The Kings XI Punjab recorded their fifth highest Powerplay score against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL. KL Rahul and Chris Gayle put up 60 runs in six overs.
{{/usCountry}}- Mohammed Siraj, who returned 0/54, recorded the joint fifth worst figures in IPL 2019. Jaydev Unadkat and Sam Curran recorded the same figures against Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians respectively.
- The Royal Challengers Bangalore recorded their highest Powerplay score this season. The visitors put up 63/1 in six overs.
(With inputs from agencies)