Punjab Kings defeated Royal Challengers Bengaluru by five wickets in a rain-affected IPL match reduced to 14 overs per side at the M Chinnaswamy stadium, Bengaluru, on Friday, April 18, 2025.
It was RCB's third loss at home this season. They are the only side without a win at home in IPL 2025.
In a rain-truncated match dominated by bowlers, two batters -- RCB's Tim David and Punjab's Nehal Wadhera -- came up with an exceptional exhibition of batting prowess.
While the first one breathed life back into a seemingly one-sided match, the latter turned the game's momentum in his team's favour with a counterattacking knock.
Put it in to bat, RCB crumbled for a meagre 95 for the loss of 9 wickets in the stipulated 14 overs with a sorry batting performance. They lost wickets in clusters and only Tim David (50 not out off 26 balls) and Skipper Rajat Patidar (23 off 18) withstood the onslaught while no other batter crossed the double-digit mark.
From 21-2 in three overs, RCB collapsed without a trace, losing their next seven wickets for 74 runs in 11 overs.
RCB never recovered after Arshdeep Singh removed openers Phil Salt (4 off 4 balls) and Virat Kohli (1 off 3 balls). While Patidar tried to counterattack and steady the innings with an 18-ball 23, wickets kept falling at the other end.
RCB's middle order consisting of Liam Livingstone (4 off 6), Jitesh Sharma (2 off 7) and Krunal Pandya (1 off 2) surrendered meekly, and it was up to Tim David to get RCB to a respectable total.
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Walking in at No. 7 in the seventh over, the Australian started off watchfully in an attempt to build a partnership with the skipper. But Patidar was dismissed in the next over, bowled by Yuzvendra Chahal, and in the next over bowled by Marco Jansen, debutant Manoj Bhandage fell for a duck.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the next man in and both Bhuvi and Tim took their time in the middle and rotated the strike, playing risk-free cricket in the middle overs. Their 19-ball 21-run partnership offered RCB a glimmer of hope, but the introduction of Harpreet Brar saw the home side lose two wickets in two balls.
First, Bhuvneshwar perished, attempting to thump a tossed-up delivery towards long off, and in the next ball, Yash Dayal was caught plumb in front of the stumps.
Tim David was 19 off 13 balls when the ninth wicket fell in the 12th over. The next 13 balls fetched him 31 runs, scoring 11 off the penultimate over bowled by Xavier Bartlett before plundering 21 runs off the final over bowled by Harpreet Brar. Tim hit five fours and three sixes in total, and all those sixes came in Brar's over.
After playing two dot balls, Tim smashed a flatter delivery over long-off for a maximum and followed it up with another sixer off a short delivery over deep mid-wicket.
The next ball too he smoked for a six, this time slicing a full and wide delivery over deep point. It was a no ball too and Tim picked up a brace off the extra delivery to complete his maiden fifty in IPL.
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Although he ended up on the losing side, Tim was named player of the match for his valiant effort. Later, he also took two catches to boot. Tim's was the second player of the match award in Bengaluru in a losing cause, after Sreevats Goswami's 52 against the erstwhile Delhi Daredevils in 2008.
Chasing the modest target, Punjab started off brightly, scoring 23 in three overs losing Prabhsimran Singh's wicket, whose lived a charmed life before Bhuvneshwar sent him back. In the next over, Josh Hazlewood removed Priyansh Arya, but at no point they fell behind the required run-rate.
Skipper Shreyas Iyer and Josh Inglis played sensibly, playing every ball on its merit. And when it seemed the two would take Punjab home comfortably, Hazlewood added another twist to the tale, removing Shreyas and Inglis off fourth and the final balls off his second over.
It brought Nehal Wadhera and Shashank Singh together, and the former was in a hurry to finish off the game. He scored 25 runs, including two and three fours, off Suyash Sharma's two overs to put the game out of RCB's reach.
Although Bhuvneshwar sent back Shashank in the 12th over, Wadhera was in no mood to relent. He hit Bhuvi for back-to-back six and a four, taking Punjab closer to victory.
They required just four of 12 balls and Marcos Stoinis walloped the first ball of the penultimate over bowled by Yash Dayal over deep mid-wicket and guided Punjab over the finish line without further drama.
And it was another impactful innings from Wadhera, who remained unbeaten on 33 off 19 balls.
After the loss of two quick wickets, Punjab wanted someone to stand up and absorb the pressure. The 24-year-old southpaw did exactly that, demonstrating great maturity and temperament while helping his team tide over a nervous period.
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