David's late fireworks in vain as Punjab edge RCB in rain-hit thriller

Punjab Kings defeated Royal Challengers Bengaluru by five wickets in a rain-hit Indian Premier League (IPL 2025) match at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Friday. Punjab chased down a target of 96 in 12.1 overs after the match had been reduced to 14-over-a-side due to rain that delayed the toss by more than two hours.

Punjab did not have an easy chase as Josh Hazlewood removed Shreyas Iyer and Josh Inglish in two balls to leave them reeling at 53/4 in 8 overs. It took some mindless heavy hitting from Nehal Wadhera (33 not out off 19) to get the visitors to victory. Tim David’s late fireworks earlier had helped RCB to a fighting total of 95/9.

Visiting skipper Shreyas Iyer called it right at the toss, and his decision to bowl turned out to be spot on. Pacer Arshdeep Singh gave Punjab a dream start by removing both openers Phil Salt (4) and Virat Kohli (1), as RCB batters struggled on a surface slowed down by the conditions. Captain Rajat Patidar’s 23 avoided a major collapse.

However, it was their overseas star David who got the RCB scorecard to chin up with some ferocious hits at death. The lanky Australian top-scored with 50 not out off just 26 deliveries, including 20 off the last over from Harpreet Brar.

Former RCB spinner Yuzvendra Chahal continued his newfound form to bag 2/11 from three overs, while Marco Jansen claimed two wickets, including that of impact sub Manoj Bhandage, who came in at 41/6 and returned instantly. Left-arm spinner Brar, who got a rare start, came in at the death and fetched two wickets.

Brief scores: RCB 95/9 in 14 overs (Tim David 50 not out, Rajat Patidar 23, Harpreet Brar 2/25, Marco Jansen 2/10, Yuzvendra Chahal 2/11, Arshdeep Singh 2/23) lost to Punjab Kings 98/5 in 12.1 overs (Nehal Wadhera 33 not out, Josh Hazlewood 3/14, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 2/26)