IPL 2023: RCB 'broke the game open' in the powerplay, says stand-in skipper Kohli after 24-run win over PBKS

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) stand-in skipper Virat Kohli hailed his bowling unit for a superb display in the powerplay after their 24-run victory over Punjab Kings in Mohali on Thursday.

IPL 2023: Full coverage | Points table | Schedule | Results | Orange Cap | Purple Cap​

Led by yet another powerplay masterclass from seamer Mohammed Siraj (4/21), RCB grabbed four wickets inside the first six overs to dent PBKS’ hopes after Kohli and Faf du Plessis, the RCB skipper who featured in this game as an Impact Player, helped Bangalore post 174/4 on the board.

Punjab would eventually be bowled out for 150, with Siraj registering his best IPL figures of 4/21.

“We felt 175 was a good score on this pitch. I told them that was more than enough. All we had to do was be confident and hold the ball in hand looking to get wickets. The way you win games in T20 cricket is by taking wickets.

“At the half-way stage, the idea was to take the game to the opposition in the first six overs. We broke the game open right there and our fielding was brilliant as well,” Kohli, who led RCB for nine seasons between 2013 and 2021, said after the match.

Bangalore weren’t the only side without their regular skipper today — Punjab were led by all-rounder Sam Curran with captain Shikhar Dhawan ruled out with an injury.

Curran, meanwhile, felt Punjab bowled well as a group and did not allow Bangalore to run away with a massive score on the board, and that it was the batting that let the home team down.

“I thought we bowled really well as a group. The way Faf and Virat played was good. I did not think they got away from us too much. In the end, we just did not bat well enough. They bowled pretty well as well but we lost wickets,” Curran, the most expensive player in the history of the IPL, said in the post-match presentation.

‘Always try to keep improving on every aspect’

While Siraj stood out with what surely is one of the best spells of his career, trapping Atharva Taide LBW off the second ball of the Punjab innings to put the chasing side under pressure right away, he was also brilliant on the field.

Bulls-eye