Mohammed Siraj's brilliant performance, taking four wickets for just 21 runs, helped Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) secure their first away win of IPL 2023 with a 24-run victory over Punjab Kings at the IS Bindra PCA Stadium on Thursday.
After being sent in to bat, RCB opener Faf du Plessis played a vital knock of 84 runs off 56 balls to help his team post a competitive total of 174/4. Siraj, backed up by Wanindu Hasaranga, Wayne Parnell and Harshal Patel, then produced an exceptional bowling performance to bowl out Punjab Kings for 150 runs in 18.2 overs.
Siraj started the Punjab Kings' innings with a wicket on his second ball, trapping Atharva Taide lbw. Hasaranga then castled Matthew Short in the third over. Siraj continued his impressive show, dismissing Liam Livingstone lbw in the fourth over, which was initially given not out by the on-field umpire. After a successful review, Siraj had his seventh power-play wicket of IPL 2023.
Punjab Kings were struggling at 43/4 at the end of the power-play, as Siraj's direct hit from mid-off saw the end of Harpreet Bhatia. Prabhsimran Singh then hit a couple of sixes over the long-on fence to put pressure on RCB. But the RCB bowlers were too good, with Sam Curran getting run-out by Hasaranga, and Parnell dismissing Prabhsimran while Hasaranga had Shahrukh Khan stumped easily.
Jitesh Sharma fought back for Punjab Kings, smashing three boundaries and two sixes in his 38-run innings, but Siraj dismissed Harpreet Brar and Nathan Ellis in consecutive deliveries in the 19th over to seal the win for RCB.
RCB captain Virat Kohli praised his team's effort, "It was a great effort from our team. We knew we had to defend the total, and the bowlers executed our plans perfectly. Siraj was outstanding, and the rest of the bowlers backed him up well. Faf played a crucial innings for us, and the fielding was exceptional too."
The win takes RCB to the third position on the IPL 2023 points table, while Punjab Kings are at the sixth spot.
Brief Scores: Royal Challengers Bangalore 174/4 in 20 overs (Faf du Plessis 84, Virat Kohli 59; Harpreet Brar 3/31, Arshdeep Singh 1/34) beat Punjab Kings 150 in 18.2 overs (Prabhsimran Singh 46, Jitesh Sharma 41; Mohammed Siraj 4/21, Wanindu Hasaranga 2/39) by 24 runs.