With a 23-run victory over Punjab Kings on Sunday, reigning champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru became the first team to qualify for the IPL playoffs thanks to half-centuries from Virat Kohli and Venkatesh Iyer.
After being asked to bat first in the Himalayan high town of Dharamsala, Venkatesh blasted an undefeated 73 to lead the side to 222-4 after in-form Kohli scored 58 off 37 balls.
Then, despite a late batting assault by Marcus Stoinis (37) and Shashank Singh (56), the bowlers, headed by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, restricted Punjab to 199-8.
RCB, who last year won their maiden IPL championship in eighteen attempts, solidified their top spot in the standings and guaranteed a spot in the playoffs.
Last year’s runners-up, Punjab, who began the season with six wins and one draw, lost for the sixth time in a row and are no longer in control of their destiny.
The top four teams from the league stage will advance to the 10-team competition for the playoffs.
After losing his opening partner Jacob Bethell for 11, Kohli, who had scored an undefeated 105 in his team’s previous victory, continued to play well, hitting four fours and three sixes to set the stage for RCB’s total. Then, in order to rebuild the innings and hit back, he put on 78 with left-hander Devdutt Padikkal, who made 45.
Before losing to leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, Kohli reached his fourth fifty of the season and 67th in the IPL.
Venkatesh put on an aggressive fourth-wicket partnership with Tim David, who scored 28, and kept up the tempo to complete his fifty while battering the bowlers.
In response, Kumar’s seam bowling dismissed Punjab’s openers Priyansh Arya for a duck and Prabhsimran Singh for two.
After captain Shreyas Iyer (1), Cooper Connolly (37), and Suryansh Shedge (37) left, Punjab fell to 93-5. Impact substitute Stoinis and Shashank attempted to raise Punjab’s hopes in their combination of 67 but disciplined bowling sealed a tenth win in 13 matches for Bengaluru. Rasikh Salam returned stats of 3-36 after taking two wickets in the last over.
