Bengaluru, Apr 19: Nehal Wadhera smashed an unbeaten 33 off 19 as Punjab Kings defeated Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) by five wickets in a marred 14-over match of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, here at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Friday.

The pitch at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, which is usually a batting paradise, turned into a scrappy, slow-burn contest that underlined how far this famed venue has shifted from its identity. A two-hour rain delay sliced the game down to 14 overs per side, and while the shortened format often promises fireworks, Thursday evening delivered a nervy low-scorer where every mistimed pull and flat-batted slap felt like a risk worth regretting.

Earlier, it had looked like RCB might not even touch the 50-run mark. After losing the toss and being asked to bat, their innings unravelled into a procession of misjudged strokes, tight bowling, and the weight of the pitch’s awkward bounce.

It was only due to Tim David’s lone resistance—a powerful, counter-punching 50 not out off 26 balls—that they managed to creep near three figures. His unbeaten half-century, punctuated with authoritative strokes even as wickets fell around him, ensured RCB avoided the ignominy of registering their lowest-ever IPL score.

The rot began early. Arshdeep Singh, coming into the match with just two power-play wickets all season, found his rhythm right when Punjab needed him to. Phil Salt, trying to manufacture a pull off a rising length ball, top-edged straight to square leg. Moments later, Arshdeep pulled his length back and found the splice of Virat Kohli’s bat as he attempted to charge him—Marco Jansen completing a comfortable catch at mid-on.

With those two wickets, Arshdeep leapfrogged Piyush Chawla to become Punjab’s highest wicket-taker in IPL history, his tally now standing at 86.

RCB’s troubles only deepened as Rajat Patidar’s aggressive intent yielded just a four and a six before he became Yuzvendra Chahal’s first victim, caught at long-off while attempting to clear the infield. The ploy to send in Impact Player Manoj Bhandage backfired spectacularly—he was pinned lbw by a skiddy Jansen delivery before he could even get going.

By the 12th over, RCB were nine down with just 63 runs on the board. Harpreet Brar picked off Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Yash Dayal off consecutive deliveries to leave the hosts gasping. Tim David, who had come in with no momentum to ride on, refused to back down. He took calculated risks against Bartlett and Brar, piercing gaps and muscling boundaries to lift his side to 95.

For a brief moment, it seemed that David’s heroics might just be enough.

Punjab’s chase began on a poor note. The very first boundary came off Arya’s outside edge, flying over the slip cordon. Prabhsimran Singh (13) survived a scare next ball, miscuing a flick that dropped safely. When he finally found some timing, carting Bhuvneshwar over his head and through extra cover in the same over, it felt like normal service was returning.

But Bhuvi, always the fox, dragged his length wider and let the away movement do the rest. Prabhsimran mistimed a flat-bat shot and offered a simple catch to David at mid-off. PBKS were 22 for 1, and suddenly the pitch felt larger, the boundaries further away.

Josh Hazlewood, who relished the stickiness of the surface, made life even harder. His height, combined with a nagging length and steep bounce, denied batters the freedom to slap or pull. Priyansh Arya (16), having top-edged a pull for six, attempted to flat-bat another and ended up offering catching practice at mid-off.

Hazlewood then delivered a brutal one-two in his second over. First came a rising ball angled across Shreyas Iyer (7), inducing an upper edge that Jitesh Sharma did brilliantly to pouch, leaping and arching behind the stumps. Then, Inglis (14)—tempted by a slightly shorter ball—went for a cut and found deep third. From 46 for 2, Punjab were suddenly wobbling at 52 for 4.

In this sea of uncertainty, Nehal Wadhera stood tall. The left-hander wasn't flashy, but he understood the moment. Against Suyash Sharma, who was getting significant drift and variation, Wadhera tried a reverse sweep that wasn’t timed well but found the gap anyway.

When the legspinner erred with a loopy full-toss in the middle, Wadhera launched it over cow corner. Even as Suyash tightened up and Hazlewood conceded just two from his final over, the left-hander waited for his moment.

With 32 needed from 24 balls, Wadhera pounced. A wide, overpitched ball was smashed over long-off. Then a full leg-break from around the wicket turned viciously past bat and keeper for four byes. When the ball was overpitched again, Wadhera drilled it through the covers. The pressure had lifted the target within touching distance.

There was a brief flicker of hope for RCB when Shashank Singh, trying to go over the top, holed out at long-on off Bhuvneshwar. The crowd found its voice again as the equation dropped to 15 from 15. But Wadhera, smiling and unshaken, tucked one fine for four before stroking another through extra cover.

It was left to Marcus Stoinis to seal the deal. Staying leg-side of the ball, he muscled a short delivery over midwicket to close out the chase with 11 balls to spare.

Brief scores:

Royal Challengers Bengaluru 95/9 in 14 overs (Tim David 50 not out, Rajat Patidar 23; Marco Jansen 2-10, Yuzvendra Chahal 2-11) lost to Punjab Kings 98/5 in 12.1 overs (Nehal Wadhera 33 not out, Priyansh Arya 16; Josh Hazlewood 3-14, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 2-26) by five wickets

--IANS

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