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The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) spinners played a pivotal role in restricting Punjab Kings (PBKS) to 157/6 in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 clash in Mullanpur on Sunday.
After winning the toss, RCB skipper Rajat Patidar opted to bowl first, a decision that proved effective, thanks to disciplined spells from his spin duo, Krunal Pandya and Suyash Sharma. While Pandya finished with figures of 2/25, Suyash was equally impressive, bagging 2/26 in his four overs. PBKS got off to a flying start, with openers Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh launching a quickfire partnership of 42 runs. However, Krunal Pandya broke the momentum by dismissing Arya for 22. Punjab brought up their fifty in just 5.1 overs and reached 62/1 at the end of the powerplay but the flow of runs soon dried up after Pandya struck again just after the powerplay, removing the dangerous Prabhsimran Singh for 33. The middle order struggled to build momentum, with captain Shreyas Iyer falling for a sluggish 6 off 10 balls to Romario Shepherd, who was playing his first match of the season. A mix-up between Nehal Wadhera and Josh Inglis led to a run out, sending Wadhera back for just 5. Inglis, however, showed some resistance with a handy 29 off 17 deliveries before being bowled by the crafty Suyash Sharma. The leg-spinner soon added another to his tally by cleaning up Marcus Stoinis for just 1, leaving Punjab reeling at 114/6 in 13.5 overs. It was then left to South African all-rounder Marco Jansen and Shashank Singh to steady the ship. The duo stitched together an unbeaten 41-run stand for the seventh wicket, guiding PBKS to a respectable total. Shashank remained unbeaten on 31 off 33 balls, while Jansen contributed a valuable 25 off 20 deliveries. (ANI)
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