The pragmatism of captain Shikhar Dhawan was the bedrock on which Punjab Kings built their 176 for six as Royal Challengers Bangalore bowlers found their bearings on a Chinnaswamy Stadium pitch that offered them springboard bounce on Monday. Dhawan (45, 37b), Jitesh Sharma (27, 20b) and Prabhsimran Singh (25, 17b) were the main contributors for the Kings after Royal Challengers opted to bowl first on a track that had a smattering of green. For RCB, Mohammed Siraj and Glenn Maxwell took wickets apiece. The Kings made a shaky beginning as Jonny Bairstow got out early as his outings on these shores, which is stretched back to last year's World Cup, has now become more barren than the Indian summer. In the latest instance, the Englishman's poorly-executed close-to-the-body pull of pacer Siraj was taken by Virat Kohli inside the covers.
But from 17 for one, the visitors found some runs through Dhawan and Prabhsimran who tackled the pitch and the RCB bowlers with aplomb, milking 55 runs off 38 balls.
Dhawan was not precisely smooth during his stay but showed enough pluck to cash in on the loose deliveries, such as a length ball on the off-stump from left-arm spinner Mayank Dagar which he lofted over long-on for a six.
Bro didn't even hesitate
Reminder: He almost injured his finger in the previous game with a similar attempt#PlayBold #ನಮ್ಮRCB #IPL2024 #RCBvPBKS
pic.twitter.com/R9bdpNhcql
In fact, the RCB bowlers, especially impressive left-arm seamer Yash Dayal (1/23), did well to tie him down with deliveries that darted in to him from just short of good length.
Prabhsimran also occasionally vented his aggressive instincts, and the most telling piece was his flicked six off Cameron Green that sailed 90 meters over mid-wicket for
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