The T20 Podcast With Ayaz Memon: Virat Captains as Bangalore Trump Punjab

Bangalore were put in to bat first and there was a mammoth 137-run opening stand by Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli.

Virat Kohli returned as Bangalore’s captain, just for the game.

Photo Credit: The Quint

Virat Kohli returned as Bangalore’s captain, just for the game, and the team marked the occasion with their third win of the season, beating Punjab in Mohali by 24 runs in Thursday’s evening fixture.

Both teams in fact had stand-in captains at the toss with Shikhar Dhawan still unwell and Faf du Plessis playing only as an Impact Player to avoid fielding after the niggle he picked up in the last game.

Bangalore were put in to bat first by Sam Curran and there was a mammoth 137-run opening stand by Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli. Virat and then Maxwell though both fell in the 17th over but Faf continued on, eventually getting out on 84 off 56. Only 44 runs were made in the final 5 overs, despite the solid start and Bangalore were restricted to 174/4 by Punjab.

Punjab’s chase went way off course within the powerplay itself with Taide, Short, Liam and Harpreet getting out, and the the team was 43/4 in 5.3 overs. Opener Prabhsimran Singh though gave it some life with his 46 and Jitesh Sharma threatened to get the team close to the finish line with his 41. Punjab in fact did get quite close, needing 37 from 24 balls but in the end, a double wicket over from Siraj in the 18th reduced Punjab to 149/9 and Bangalore won the match by 24 runs.

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