IPL 2022: Du Plessis, Kohli and Karthik power RCB to 205-2 against Punjab

Mumbai, March 27 (IANS) Brillant knocks by skipper Faf du Plessis (88 off 57), Virat Kohli (41 not out off 29) and Dinesh Karthik (32 not out off 14) powered Royal Challengers Bangalore to 205-2 against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the 3rd match of the IPL 2022 at DY Patil Sports Academy, here on Sunday.

Apart from the trio of Du Plessis, Kohli and Karthik, Anuj Rawat also made valuable contributions with the bat for RCB with his knock of 21 off 20.

Invited to bat first, openers Faf du Plessis and Anuj Rawat gave RCB a good start. Playing their debut match for the franchise, both batters played some good shots, hit few boundaries and took RCB to 41-0 at the end of 6 overs.

However, Rawat could carry his innings longer after the powerplay and was cleaned up by Rahul Chahar. The southpaw, who was looking to take the attack to the PBKS bowlers, missed a slog sweep and got out after scoring 21 off 20.

The wicket brought former RCB skipper Virat Kohli at the crease. The star batter took some time to assess the condition while Chahar created some trouble for du Plessis in his over. After a few quiet overs, Kohli decided to break the shackles and charged down the track and smashed Harpreet Brar for a six over the long-on fence.

Soon, Du Plessis also changed his gears and smashed Odean Smith for 23 runs in the 13th over. During the process, the South African also scored his first fifty as a RCB player and captain. Both Faf and Kohli then combined to hit three sixes in spinner Harpreet Brar and as RCB raced to 136/1 after 14 overs.

The pair of Kohli and Du Plessis kept the scoreboard ticking as they dealt in both boundaries and running between the wickets. Continuing his aggressive approach, Faf du Plessis hit Sandeep Sharma for 10 runs as RCB looked set for a big total.

With only three overs to go, the Faf du Plessis show finally came to an end as he was caught at long-off by Shahrukh Khan off Arshdeep Singh's bowling. Du Plessis departed after scoring 88 off 57 and stitched an 118 stand for the second wicket with Kohli. Thereafter, Dinesh Karthik joined Kohli and he immediately took over from where Faf left.

The wicket-keeper batter along with Kohli took Odean Smith to cleaners as 18 runs came off from the penultimate over of the innings. Continuing his onslaught, Karthik also hit Sandeep Sharma for two boundaries and one six and helped RCB finish at 205-2 in 20 overs. Karthik remained not out with 32 off 14 while Kohli returned unbeaten on 41 off 29.

Brief scores: RCB -- 205-2 in 20 overs (Faf du Plessis 88, Virat Kohli 41; Rahul Chahar 1/22) vs PBKS