An Odean Smith cameo on the finish grew to become out to be the variation as Punjab Kings chased down a mammoth goal of 206 towards Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) to start out their IPL marketing campaign with a win. Smith ended up with 25 off 8 balls as Punjab were given house with an over to spare after all.
Punjab had been 170 for five after 17, wanting 36 from the final 3 when Smith got here to lifestyles. Mohammaed Siraj’s final over, the 18th of the innings, used to be taken for 25, with Smith scoring 23 of them, deciding the sport. Previous, teenager Anuj Rawat, who had a perfect day within the box in a different way, dropped Odean Smith when he used to be on 1.
Punjab had began their innings smartly whilst chasing the large goal with newly appointed captain Mayank Agarwal and Shikhar Dhawan giving them a very good get started. As soon as Mayank fell to a very good catch by way of Shahbaz Ahmed, Sri Lankan import Rajapaksa stored up the momentum with a quickfire 43 off 22 balls.
Alternatively, RCB fought again smartly with the wickets of Dhawan, Rajapaksa, debutant Bawa and Livingstone in fast succession. That handiest introduced Smith to the crease, and within the corporate of Shahrukh Khan, he guided Punjab to a relaxed win after all with an over to spare.
Previous, new RCB captain Faf du Plessis placed on a display as he driven his new crew to an enormous first innings overall. Faf made 88 off 57 balls, and his 118 runs partnership for the second one wicket with Kohli powered RCB to an enormous first innings rating.
Alternatively, RCB’s Achilles heel, their bowling, returned to hang-out them as they didn’t protect this massive rating within the face of a sustained Punjab attack. When it appeared like they will have a sniff, Odean Smith decisively extinguished their hopes with 3 sixes and a 4 within the 18th Over.