Royal Challengers Bengaluru suffered their third consecutive home defeat as Punjab Kings secured a five-wicket victory in a rain-shortened 14-over game at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Friday. After a two-hour rain delay, RCB struggled with the bat, managing only 95/9 in their innings, leading to criticism from former India opener Virender Sehwag.
The RCB batting lineup collapsed early, with openers Phil Salt and Virat Kohli falling to poor pull shots within the first three overs. Captain Rajat Patidar’s brief innings and Tim David’s late surge provided some resistance, while Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma, and Krunal Pandya failed to make an impact.
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“RCB batted poorly. All of them played reckless shots to get out. Not a single batter was out to a good ball. At least one batter should’ve used common sense. If they had wickets in hand, they could have reached 110 or 120 in 14 overs, which would have given them a chance to fight,” Sehwag commented on Cricbuzz.
Sehwag acknowledged Punjab’s bowling performance while criticising RCB’s batting approach. “There is difference between getting wickets and earning wickets,” he stated.
Despite RCB’s bowlers putting up a fight to delay Punjab’s victory, Sehwag emphasised the need for Captain Patidar to address the team’s batting issues at home.
“Patidar has to think and come up with a solution. They have not been winning at home. Their bowlers are doing well but why are their batters faltering regularly? It’s not alright if your batters continuously fail at home. Who is going to rectify that?” Sehwag questioned.
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The two teams will meet again on Sunday afternoon in Mullanpur for their next encounter.
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