Royal Challengers Bangalore lost a low-scoring game to Kings XI Punjab by eight wickets.
KXIP captain Glenn Maxwell (3rd R) hugs RCB team player after winning the match (Photo: AFP)
AB de Villiers’ strokeful 89-run knock went in vain as Royal Challengers Bangalore lost a low-scoring game to Kings XI Punjab by eight wickets at the Holkar Stadium in Indore on Monday.
KXIP opener Hashim Amla and captain Glenn Maxwell emerged as match-winners, posting an unbeaten partnership stand of 72 runs to reach the small target, with 33 balls remaining.
Amla scored unbeaten 58 runs off 38 balls, while Maxwell struck 43 runs (not out) at an aggressive strike rate of 195.45.
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The South African smashed three sixes and four boundaries in his inspiring knock.
Maxwell’s willow hit three boundaries and four sky-touching sixes, which includes a finishing six to seal KXIP’s second successive victory in the IPL 2017.
For RCB, pacer Tymal Mills took the scalp of Manan Vohra (34) and spinner Yuzvendra Chahal dismissed Axar Patel for nine runs.
The return of RCB’s star campaigner De Villiers was exciting enough in the first innings, but KXIP’s easy eight-wicket win spoiled all the fun for Bengaluru fans.
The 33-year-old legendary batsman scored a remarkable knock of 89 runs (not out) for RCB after early blows.
De Villiers hit nine sixes and three boundaries to lift the spectators off their feet. Last year, the South African had slammed 37 sixes, second highest of the season after Virat Kohli (38 sixes).
At the helm, De Villiers was batting alongside Stuart Binny, who scored causative 18 runs (not out).
Despite having De Villiers in the playing eleven today, RCB appeared under pressure since the beginning.
At top-order, skipper Shane Watson, wicketkeeper-batsman Vishnu Vinod and Kedar Jadhav were dismissed for 1, 7 and 1 run respectively within first five overs.
In the middle-order, Mandeep Singh managed to bat for a long while and contributed 28 runs to the total.
With De Villiers, Mandeep put a 46-run partnership stand for the fourth-wicket.
KXIP pacer Varun Aaron dismissed Mandeep in the 14th over to claim his second wicket.
Sandeep Sharma and Axar Patel joined KXIP bowling attack, taking the scalp of Watson and Vinod respectively.
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