Faf du Plessis admitted that if the Impact Player rule hadn’t been in existence, he wouldn’t have participated in this game. Too many issues were being caused by his damaged rib. However, the new rules provided him the opportunity to change the course of the game with only his batting, which he did. Despite a late slowdown, Virat Kohli led Royal Challengers Bangalore to 174 for 4 after taking over as captain so he could bat as a replacement. He scored 84 off 56 balls on a slow Mohali pitch. Then he just relaxed in the dugout and observed Mohammed Siraj assist them to protect that total by performing well in both the powerplay and the death.
After reaching 137 for 0 in 16 overs, Royal Challengers could only manage 37 for 4 in their final four overs. After narrowly losing to Chennai Super Kings at home, they managed to hold off Punjab Kings by dominating the powerplay with both bat and ball to advance their season.
Siraj bosses the powerplay and death
When Siraj struck twice on the powerplay to trap both Atharva Taide (4) and the returning Liam Livingstone (2), Royal Challengers rapidly made up lost ground. Siraj increased his season total for powerplay wickets with those two, bringing it to six. No other bowler in IPL 2023 has taken more wickets during this stage.
Siraj came back in the final phase to end the chase of the Kings after discovering late inswing in the opening exchanges. Kings had a slim chance as Jitesh’s late shots reduced the target to 30 off 18 balls, but Siraj dismissed Brar and Ellis in an 18th over that only cost four runs. Harpreet Bhatia was caught short at the non-striker’s end by a direct hit from mid-off by Siraj, who was also active in the field.
Royal Challengers Bangalore 174 for 4 (Du Plessis 84, Kohli 59, Brar 2-31) beat Punjab Kings 150 (Prabhsimran 46, Jitesh 41, Siraj 4-21) by 24 runs