Kohli, Karthik guide RCB to 4-wkt win against Punjab Kings

Bengaluru: Harpreet Brar’s incisive bowling came to naught as Virat Kohli’s splendid half-century and Dinesh Karthik’s power-hitting at the back end helped Royal Challengers Bengaluru defeat Punjab Kings by four wickets in an Indian Premier League match here on Monday.

Chasing 177 for victory, RCB, thanks to Kohli’s 77 (49 balls) and Karthik’s unbeaten 28 (10 balls), won the match with four balls to spare.

PBKS’ left-arm spinner Brar (2/13) dismissed dangerous middle-order batters Rajat Patidar and Glenn Maxewll cheaply as RCB, chasing 177 for victory, were in big trouble. He also took a wonderful catch to dismiss Kohli to put RCB in trouble.

But Karthik and Mahipal Lomror (17 not out) bailed out the home side.

Brief scores:

Punjab Kings 176 for 6 in 20 overs (Shikhar Dhawan 45, Prabhsimran Singh 25, Sam Curran 23, Jitesh Sharma 27; Glenn Maxwell 2/29, Md Siraj 2/26).

Royal Challengers Bengaluru 178 for 6 in 19.2 overs (Virat Kohli 77, Mahipal Lomror 17 not out, Dinesh Karthik 28 not out; Kagiso Rabada 2/23, Harpreet Brar 2/13).