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| Kohli, de Villiers power RCB to maiden Win |
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Mohali: Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) defeated Kings XI Punjab by eight wickets to register their first win in the 12th edition of Indian Premier League, here at IS Bindra Stadium on Saturday. RCB won the toss and asked the home team to bat first. Put in to bat Punjab got a decent start as the opening pair added 66 runs for the first wicket. Both Chris Gayle and Lokesh Rahul played marvelously. With the help of Chris Gayle''s unbeaten 99 runs knock, Punjab set a challenging target of 174 runs.
However, Virat Kohli-led RCB achieved the target with 4 balls to spare. While chasing a target of 174 runs, RCB were off to a good start as Parthiv Patel (19) and Kohli (67) put on 43 runs for the first wicket in 3.5 overs. KXIP got the first breakthrough as Patel was the first man to walked towards pavilion. The left-handed batsman was caught by Mayank Agarwa off Punjab''s captain Ravichandran Ashwin. Following the dismissal, skipper Kohli along with AB de Villiers (59) forged a crucial partnership keeping KXIP bowlers at bay to take away the match from the home side. Kohli was the high-scorer from the RCB side with his 67 runs knock off 53 balls, followed AB de Villiers'' unbeaten innings of 59 off 38 balls. AB de Villiers was named Man of the Match for his brilliant batting.
Punjab got some relief when they sent Kohli to pavilion, who was looking in a great touch. He lofted the ball towards mid-wicket where Murugan Ashwin took a simple catch on Mohammed Shami ball. However, Marcus Stoinis (28) and AB de Villiers helped RCB to chase down the target with four balls to spare. They stitched together a 46 runs unbeaten partnership for the third wicket, helping RCB to register their first win in seventh match. From the RCB side, Kohli was the highest run-scorer with his 67 runs knock. He hit eight fours.
AB de Villiers (59* runs; 38 balls; 5 fours; 2 sixes) was the second highest run-getter for RCB. From home side pacer Shami and off-spinner Ashwin took one wicket each.
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