Punjab Kings produced an inch-perfect bowling effort, the cornerstone of their five-wicket victory over Royal Challengers Bengaluru in a truncated IPL match in Bengaluru on Friday.

Tim David (50 not out, 26b) scored well over fifty per cent of RCB’s woefully inadequate 95 for nine after an evening round of rain forced the match to start at 9.45 pm in a 14 overs per side avatar.

Punjab Kings had to go through mild scares initially but went past the line in 12.1 overs with a score of 98 for five, also prolonging RCB’s wait for their first win at home this season.

Kings’ hard-hitting openers Priyansh Arya, the latest IPL sensation, and Prabhsimran Singh were not precisely comfortable on a pitch that offered considerable bounce to the pacers.

Arya, whose hit through the line technique might work well on a flatter surface, understood the perils of playing on the up here as he skied a mistimed swipe off Josh Hazlewood (3/14) to David.

Prabhsimran fell to Bhuvneshwar Kumar, but the Kings might have been jolted a bit when in-form captain Shreyas Iyer walked back.

Iyer tried to cut a delivery from Hazlewood but the ball was too close to his body and he could only edge it to stumper Jitesh Sharma.

Josh Inglis’ departure reduced Punjab to 53 for four, and were slipping to a dangerous territory but they found a calm soldier in Nehal Wadhera.

The left-handed Wadhera (33 not out, 19b), who pummelled leg-spinner Suyash Sharma for a couple of sixes, allayed his team’s worries.

A composed Wadhera played a big hand as Punjab Kings eventually crossed the line, swelling their tally to 10 points to move up to second place on the points table behind leaders Delhi Capitals.

Earlier, clever bowling by the Kings restricted RCB to a disappointing total after Shreyas opted to bowl first.

The decision proved right as his bowlers plucked three wickets in the power play segment.

The match started at 9.45 pm after a steady drizzle refused to fade away for a good part of the evening, and Kings’ skipper Shreyas Iyer did not hesitate to bowl first.

The decision proved right as Punjab bowlers plucked three wickets in the power play segment, which was curtailed to four overs because of the delayed start.

Phil Salt started the proceedings with a crisp boundary but perished in the first over itself, trying to hammer Arshdeep Singh (2/23) out of the park and stumper Josh Inglis completed a good catch.

Virat Kohli did not last long either, as Marco Jansen peddled 20 metres back to pull off a terrific catch off Arshdeep.

Pacer Xavier Bartlett joined his teammate with the wicket of Liam Livingstone.

Livingstone tried to carve Bartlett over covers but the ball was a touch outside the off-stump and the batter could not impart timing to his shot, which was pouched by Priyansh Arya at covers.

The Royal Challengers’ power play phase score read a sorry 26 for three.

Yuzvendra Chahal (2/11) made his return to his one-time IPL home Chinnaswamy Stadium memorable with the wicket of Jitesh Sharma.

Amidst the ruins around him, skipper Rajat Patidar played some handsome shots, and none better than a pick-up off his pads off Bartlett that soared over mid-wicket for a six.

But RCB soon received a body blow as Patidar (23, 18b) could not clear Bartlett at sweeper cover off Chahal, who teased the batters with those tossed up, fuller deliveries.

Jansen (2/10), who used short-pitched balls to good effect, had his own moments as he jettisoned Krunal Pandya and Impact Sub Manoj Bhandage as RCB innings unravelled.

It was despite a few customary big blows by David (50 not out, 26 balls) that included three sixes in a row off left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar. David made 32 runs for the final wicket with Josh Hazlewood off 14 balls.

A sprightly Mumbai Indians continued their ascent in IPL 2025 with a four-wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad in a one-sided contest on a tricky wicket in Mumbai on Thursday.

Led by Will Jacks who played a decisive role with a fine 36 (26 balls) after a crucial spell of 2/14, Mumbai Indians executed an all-round show to record their second consecutive win.

The home side came on top for having assessed the Wankhede Stadium pitch accurately and adapting quickly to the conditions it presented, with each of the pieces falling in place for the five-time winners.

MI’s fast bowlers used the short and slower balls well throughout the first innings and nailed their yorkers perfectly. In the run chase, the MI batters showed a clear plan to keep finding the boundaries which kept them on top.

Chasing 163 on a pitch which had grip and turn, MI were also benefited by SRH’s reluctance to bring on spin in the powerplay, as the home side made 166/6 in 18.1 overs to record their third win of the season.

Even though Rohit Sharma endured another failure after a promising start in which he made 26 off 16 balls with three sixes, he gave MI the momentum with the bat and the others capitalised on it.

Opener Ryan Rickelton made a fluent 31 while Suryakumar Yadav hammered two sixes and as many fours to make 26 (off 15 balls) to provide a strong support to Jacks.

Captain Hardik Pandya played a crucial cameo of 21 off just nine balls to take MI to the threshold of victory. Tilak Varma (21 not out) then took MI over the line after a late minor hiccup as the home side reached 166 for 6 in 18.1 overs.

In the first half, Sunrisers Hyderabad found late momentum with the bat to fight their way through and post 162 for 5.

With the surface at the Wankhede Stadium providing grip and turn for the spinners and slower deliveries giving dividends to the pace bowlers, Sunrisers Hyderabad batters struggled to adapt to the wicket for most part of the innings.

But a big finish — 57 runs coming off the last five overs — gave SRH some much-needed impetus towards the end.

MI bowlers were spot-on in formulating their plans and near-perfect in their execution with Jasprit Bumrah delivering a measly 4-0-21-1, Trent Boult nailing his yorkers again to return 4-0-29-1 and Will Jacks producing an impressive 3-0-14-2.

The SRH struggle was evident from the start even as Abhishek Sharma stroked his way to 40 off 28 balls with seven boundaries.

It all started with an eventful first over when the two SRH openers got a reprieve each off Deepak Chahar.

Abhishek went down the wicket, swinging his bat on the first delivery. The ball shaped away slightly to take the edge but Jacks failed to get hold of it.

On the fourth delivery, Travis Head played one straight to Karn Sharma at midwicket where he failed to pluck a low catch as the ball fell just short of him.

Abhishek looked to be hitting his strides when he smacked three fours off Chahar in the fifth over but there was just no momentum gained.

Raj Angad Bawa timed his dive to grab the ball to dismiss Abhishek off Pandya for the first breakthrough and by then it was evident that SRH would have to scrape their way through to a competitive total.

Jacks then had former MI player Ishan Kishan stumped for a mere two.

Head was unable to open up even as he tried his best to cut loose. Despite having caught off a no-ball with Pandya overstepping, Head failed to capitalise as he fell for an ordinary 29-ball 28.

Such was the impact of MI’s control that the first six of the game came as late as in the 18th over — the best one of SRH’s innings — when Heinrich Klaasen (37 off 28 balls, 3x4s, 2x6s) took 21 runs to spoil Chahar’s figures (4-0-47-0).

In the final over, Aniket Verma hit a couple of sixes and Pat Cummins smacked one to take vital 22 runs off Pandya.

Mitchell Starc bowled couple of incredible overs under pressure as Delhi Capitals pulled off a heist by stealing a thrilling Super Over win from Rajasthan Royals in their IPL showdown in New Delhi on Wednesday.

The ice-cold Starc (1/36 in 4 overs) held his nerve during a tense final over to defend nine runs as DC forced the game into a Super Over when it seemed Royals had all but won it.

The Australian left-arm pacer then bowled a tremendous Super Over, conceding just two boundaries. He was backed by two razor-sharp run-outs as RR managed only 11 runs.

KL Rahul and Tristan Stubbs then kept their nerves in check slamming a four and a six respectively to take the hosts to their first win at the Feroz Shah Kotla.

Chasing 189, Yashasvi Jaiswal (51 off 37) and ‘local lad’ Nitish Rana (51 off 28) had the Royals cruising, but DC’s bowlers turned the tide with a roaring late surge, eventually tying the game at 188/4.

The late drama followed a solid batting effort by DC, built on Abishek Porel’s composed 49 and explosive cameos from skipper Axar Patel (34 off 14) and Tristan Stubbs (34 not out off 18), lifting them to a competitive 188/5 after being asked to bat.

Desperate for a win to reignite their campaign, Jaiswal came out all guns blazing as he clobbered two sixes off Mukesh Kumar before dismantling Mitchell Starc with two boundaries and a towering maximum, making his intent clear.

Sanju Samson joined the party even as Ashutosh Sharma spilled a regulation catch. The Royals’ captain eventually retired hurt, after pulling his side.

With the chase humming along, Axar wicketless all season, broke the drought with a ripper that outfoxed Riyan Parag.

Jaiswal, however, looked invincible until Axar turned once more to his trusted match-winner Kuldeep Yadav (1/33 in 4 overs). The move worked. Delhi’s standout wrist-spinner struck gold, removing the set Jaiswal.

But Rana was in no mood to let up. The southpaw batted with precision, sending anything in his arc to the fence with ease.

His calculated aggression and clean ball-striking kept Royals firmly on course. But once Rana was trapped led before by Starc the script changed.

Abishek Porel’s composed 49 was complemented by skipper Axar Patel’s explosive cameo as Delhi Capitals posted a mammoth 188/5 against Rajasthan Royals in their IPL clash in New Delhi on Wednesday.

If Porel and KL Rahul (38) laid a solid foundation with a 63-run stand, Axar’s blistering 13-ball 34, along with Tristan Stubbs’s (34 no off 18 balls) late surge, provided the final flourish in an innings where momentum swung like a pendulum between the two sides.

The surface at the Feroz Shah Kotla wasn’t the easiest to bat on, offering grip and turn for the spinners.

Sandeep Sharma (0/33) bowled beautifully through his spell, though he lost his rhythm in the final over, leaking four wides and a no-ball.

The pitch wasn’t the easiest to bat on as it provided some grip and turn and Sandeep bowled beautifully, taking pace off his deliveries, barring the last over where he leaked 19 runs.

Delhi Capitals got off to a fiery start, with Jake Fraser-McGurk (9) cracking back-to-back boundaries off Jofra Archer (2/32) to set the tone.

Young Porel lit up the Feroz Shah Kotla early on, taking the second over by storm. He tore into Tushar Deshpande, smashing 23 runs, including four elegant boundaries.

But the highlight was a sublime flick over deep backward square for a maximum that had the crowd roaring.

However, DC’s momentum faltered as Fraser-McGurk’s lean patch persisted. The Australian lofted a simple catch to Yashasvi Jaiswal at mid-off in the fourth over, gifting Rajasthan Royals a breakthrough.

Run outs came back to haunt Delhi again as a mix-up between Porel and the in-form Karun Nair (0) resulted in the latter’s dismissal, abruptly halting the Capitals’ early charge.

The Royals’ bowlers tightened the noose during the middle overs, drying up the boundaries and building persistent pressure.

Yet, Porel found a steady ally in seasoned Rahul. The veteran batter brought a sense of calm amid storm, easing the pressure with two towering sixes—one launched down the ground off Deshpande in the 7th, and another elegantly lifted over long-off against Mahesh Theekshana in the 11th.

Just when the hosts looked like having rebuild their innings, Archer was brought back skipper Sanju Samson. And the English pacer struck gold, dismissing Rahul with back of length delivery that found Shimron Hetmyer at deep midwicket.

The West Indian held on to a low catch, inches above the ground, swinging the momentum back in Rajasthan’s favour.

Just when the hosts looked like having rebuild their innings, Archer was brought back skipper Sanju Samson. And the English pacer struck gold, dismissing Rahul with back of length delivery that found Shimron Hetmyer at deep midwicket.

The West Indian held on to a low catch, inches above the ground, swinging the momentum back in Rajasthan’s favour.