Match Report: Bangalore vs Punjab, Indian T20 League 2021

A dominant team performance riding on KL Rahul and Harpreet Brar, helped Punjab to defeat Bangalore by 35 runs, and with this win, Punjab moved to fifth in the table. 

Toss: Bangalore opted to field first 

Venue: Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad 

Detailed Match Report 

First Innings (Punjab 179/5) 

Mayank Agarwal was rested due to injury and Punjab tried a new opening with Rahul and Prabhsimran. Jamieson picked Prabhsimarn on just 7. KL Rahul struggled in powerplay and Gayle maintained the run-rate as he scored 5 fours in the final over of the powerplay against Jamieson. Gayle and Rahul added 80 runs for the 2^nd wicket before Daniel Sams struck in the 11^th over to dismiss Gayle on 46. Punjab formed a mini-collapse after Gayle’s wicket. Pooran got his fourth duck of the season and later, Hooda and Shahrukh Khan also got out. KL Rahul completed yet another half-century. In death-overs, Punjab took the rhythm, and the duo Rahul and Brar added 61 runs for the 6^th wicket. In the final over, Harshal Patel conceded 22 runs and KL Rahul remained not out on 91 off 57 balls. Punjab finished on 179 in 20-overs despite a middle-overs collapse. 

Second Innings (Bangalore 145/8) 

Bangalore lost Padikkal early and Meredith picked him on 7. Kohli and Patidar revived Bangalore with a good stand but Punjab controlled runs in the powerplay. KL Rahul introduced spin and Harpreet Brar came out of the syllabus. He picked Virat Kohli and Maxwell on successive deliveries. He also picked in-form ABD to demolish all the hopes for Bangalore. Patidar played some attacking shots but the required-run-rate crossed 15. Jordan scalped him on 31 to add the final nail on the coffin. Harshal Patel and Jamieson added some quick runs to reduce the losing margin. Punjab defeated Bangalore for the third consecutive time and each time, they thrashed Virat Kohli’s side with a bigger margin. The victory now helped Punjab to take the 5^th spot in the table. 

Star Performer of the Match 

Harpreet Brar is our star performer of the match. The young Punjab player scored 25 off 17 when his side was struggling in the first innings. With the bowl, he picked three important wickets of Kohli, Maxwell and ABD. His one spell changed the story of this entire game and Punjab emerged victorious. 

5 impactful players of match 

Harpreet Brar 25 (17) & 19/3 

KL Rahul 91 (57) 

Ravi Bishnoi 17/2 

Chris Gayle 46 (24) 

Virat Kohli 35 (34)