Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) took a tough loss against Punjab Kings (PBKS) on Saturday, making it the most defeats at home in Indian Premier League (IPL) history. RCB, led by Rajat Patidar, fell to this defeat in their 34th match of the 18th season after a rain delay at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
Nehal Wadhera played a solid innings, helping PBKS secure a comfortable win. With this loss, RCB dropped to fourth place with 8 points from 7 matches, while PBKS climbed to second place with 10 points from the same number of games. This marked RCB’s 46th defeat at home, the highest for any team in IPL history, while Delhi Capitals sit second with 45 losses at their ground.
In the match itself, PBKS captain Shreyas Iyer chose to bowl first after winning the toss, and the game was shortened to 14 overs due to rain. RCB managed to score 95 runs for 9 wickets. Only Rajat Patidar (23 runs off 18 balls) and Tim David (50* runs off 26 balls) crossed ten runs. Marco Jansen was impressive for PBKS with 2 wickets for just 10 runs.
Chasing a target of 96, PBKS reached 98 for 5 in 12.1 overs, marking their fifth win of the season. Wadhera finished not out with 33 off 19 balls. Marcus Stoinis ended the match with a six to seal the win. For RCB, Josh Hazlewood stood out with 3 wickets for 14 runs, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar took 2 for 26. Tim David earned Player of the Match for his quick half-century.
