IPL 2020: Kings XI Punjab beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 97 runs

Kings XI Punjab performed like a well-oiled machine in their second game of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 to beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 97 runs in Dubai on Thursday.

Chasing a mammoth 207 for victory, Royal Challengers Bangalore were bowled out for 109 in 17 overs thanks to a superb effort with the ball by fast bowlers Sheldon Cottrell and Mohammed Shami before the spinners took charge of the proceedings.

The pace duo ran through RCB's top-order with Cottrell getting rid of opener Devdutt Padikkal and captain Virat Kohli in 2 overs while Shami picked up Josh Philippe's wicket to deliver a body blow to the opposition.

Aaron Finch and AB de Villiers were left with too big a target when they joined forces in the 3rd overs itself. Both overseas superstars though, couldn't fire when the team needed as Finch and de Villiers departed within 3 balls of each other.

Finch became Bishnoi's maiden IPL wicket while Murugan Ashwin, playing his first game this season, sent back de Villiers to virtually end the contest there and then as RCB lost their



top-half for 57 runs. They eventually managed just

Earlier, KL Rahul's record hundred helped Kings XI Punjab post 206 for 3 in their allotted 20 overs after being put in to bat by Virat Kohli.

Rahul batted from start to finish, ending up with 132 not out off 69 balls with 14 boundaries and 7 sixes. The Karnataka batsman set the records for the highest score by a captain in the IPL and the most runs in an innings by an Indian batsman with this match-winning knock.

Rahul also completed 2000 IPL runs during his innings, becoming the fastest Indian to achieve the milestone. Sachin Tendulkar, who took 63 innings to score 2000 IPL runs, was the holder of this record for 8 years before Rahul broke it in his 60th inning.

Rahul stitched identical 57-run partnerships with Mayank Agarwal (26) and Nicholas Pooran (17) for the first-two wickets before the unbeaten 78-run stand for the 4th-wicket with Karun Nair which helped the team get past the 200-run mark.

The duo were particularly destructive in the final 2 overs, smashing 49 runs in the last 2 overs.