PBKS vs RCB | Kohli and Padikkal tighten RCB's away win streak and handing Punjab a home defeat

ByDebayan Sinha,SportsCafe Editor

Yesterday at 7:03 PM

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Royal Challengers Bengaluru defeated Punjab Kings by seven wickets at Mullanpur. Punjab struggled with partnerships, posting 157/6 despite a late stand from Josh Inglis and Shashank Singh, while Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal’s 100-run partnership led RCB to victory with seven balls to spare.

‌After a dominant win at Chinnaswamy just two days prior, Punjab Kings faced Royal Challengers Bengaluru once again—this time in Mullanpur. Put in to bat after losing the toss, Punjab got off to a blazing start as openers Prabhsimran Singh and Priyansh Arya powered their way to 41/0 in four overs. However, Krunal Pandya broke the momentum by dismissing both openers in the fifth and seventh overs. The slide continued when Romario Shepherd sent skipper Shreyas Iyer packing in the eighth, leaving Punjab at 70/3 with Josh Inglis and Nehal Wadhera at the crease. But the partnership didn’t last long—Wadhera fell victim to a chaotic run-out, and Inglis was cleaned up by Suyash Sharma, halting Punjab’s scoring rate. Suyash struck again in the 14th over, knocking over Marcus Stoinis to deepen the trouble. With Shashank Singh and Marco Jansen at the crease, Punjab stood at 119/6 after 15 overs. Lacking late-innings firepower, the duo could only manage a 43-run partnership. Punjab eventually closed their innings at 157/6 in 20 overs.

RCB had a rocky start in response to Punjab's total, with their in-form opener Phil Salt being dismissed by Arshdeep Singh in the first over. However, Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal quickly steadied the ship, taking the score to 54/1 by the end of the powerplay. The pair continued to keep the scoreboard ticking, with excellent running between the wickets, guiding RCB to 88/1 at the halfway mark. Padikkal looked in superb form, bringing up his first fifty of the season off just 30 deliveries. As the duo built a strong foundation, RCB needed only 50 runs from 48 balls to secure the win. However, their 103-run partnership came to an end in the 13th over when Harpreet Brar dismissed Padikkal for 61 off 35 balls. Kohli, however, continued his assault, reaching his half-century in 43 deliveries. Though Rajat Patidar was dismissed in the 17th over, the former RCB skipper guided his side home, sealing the victory for RCB in 18.5 overs. With the win, RCB moved up to the third spot on the points table.

Lovely

The bond between kohli and iyer is so underrated man 🤧🫶🏼
— Ransh (@Ransh25)

LOL

Virat Kohli Celebration Infront Of Shreyas Iyer🤣
— Popa - Son Of Krunal Pandya (@MagnesiumKohli)

Sledging is important

Virat kohli celebration after win against Punjab 😂 . He is sledging shreyas iyer 😭
— Ashish (@Ashish_2__)

Tease him

Virat Kohli teasing Shreyas Iyer 😭😭😭😭
— • (@LoftedOffDrive)

Superb

Shreyas-Kohli
— Johnny🚩 (@Pranay_16K)

True

This man retired from at T20s last year, and yet he is still competing for that orange cap, contributing to the teams success. Smith and Root are Test giants, but they can never reach the heights Kohli has reached in shorter formats
— Shreyas yaps Cricket🏏 (@Cricchancellor)

He loved it

Virat Kohli celebration after winning the match to shreyas iyer. 🤣🤣🤣
— Akshat Om (@AkshatOM10)

Fun time

Virat Kohli celebration after winning the match to shreyas iyer. 🤣🤣🤣
— Ritesh Yadav (@riteshy9034)

He needs to understand

Virat Kohli needs to understand that unnecessary aggression towards fellow Indian players like KL Rahul, Shubman Gill & Shreyas Iyer isn’t “passion”—it’s pure arrogance.

If you dish it out, be ready to take it back. Karma spares none, even so-called “GOATs.”

Cry when you lose,…
— Sincere Dibya (@TheSincereDude)

These 2