RCB are just one match away from ultimate glory. They dominated the Punjab Kings in Qualifier 1. Rajat Patidar returned as captain and chose to bowl first after winning the toss. Josh Hazlewood was back in RCB’s squad after missing four games. What fans witnessed was a one-sided domination by the bowlers.
Punjab’s openers, Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh, have been in excellent form this season. Records showed that whenever one of them scored 45 or more runs, Punjab always won the game. However, RCB’s pace attack understood their plans and executed them perfectly. Preity Zinta’s team was 48 for 4 at the end of the powerplay.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Hazlewood, and Yash Dayal ran riot in the first six overs. However, the real hero was young spinner Suyash Sharma, who didn’t let the Punjab batters settle in the middle overs. He managed to take the important wickets of Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, and impact substitute Musheer Khan. Thanks to Azmatullah Omarzai’s contribution of 18 runs, PBKS managed to cross the 100-run mark.
After a horrible batting performance, all PBKS fans could hope for was a miracle. In the 4th over, Kyle Jamieson gave them that ray of hope. He managed to dismiss Virat Kohli cheaply and bowled a maiden over, planting a seed of doubt in the minds of RCB fans. However, Phil Salt showed why he was one of their most reliable batters, scoring a half-century at a strike rate of over 200. RCB won the match in the 11th over and qualified for their 4th final. Suyash became the 9th different player to win the Man of the Match award for RCB.
Fans react to RCB’s dominating victory over Punjab Kings
After witnessing Punjab’s domination against MI in the penultimate match of the league stage, everyone expected the game to be full of thrills. However, RCB bowlers made this match completely one-sided and forced the PBKS batters into making mistakes. While some fans trolled Shreyas Iyer’s team for their abysmal performance, others praised the Bengaluru side.
One fan prayed to God to be kind to the RCB team and help them win their first trophy in history. Another fan was still confident that the Red Army would lose in the final. Many fans praised Salt for his half-century at a crucial point in the tournament. Others believed that jersey number 18, Kohli, would lift the trophy in the 18th season. Here are some of the top reactions from the fans:
One user felt sad for Preity, as her team faced a humiliating defeat. Another user stated that RCB’s bowlers were the reason they qualified for the final. Some fans admitted that they had never seen such a one-sided game in the playoffs. Meanwhile, other fans still believed that Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya would lead MI to their 6th title win.
