Sharjah, Oct 15 (UNI) Royal Challengers Bangalore posted a fighting total of 171/6 against Kings XI Punjab in the 31st match of the IPL 2020, at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, here on Thursday.
Virat Kohli scored 48 off 39 balls to emerge as the top-scorer, while Chris Morris smashed a blazing 25 towards the end for RCB.
After winning toss and opting to bat first, RCB were off to a good start, scoring 57/1 in the powerplay. Arshdeep Singh struck in the first ball of the 5th over to dismiss opener Devdutt Padikkal for 18.
Padikkal's opening partner Aaron Finch also couldn't do much and got out for 20.
The stage was set for a Kohli-AB partnership after Finch's wicket but that didn't happen. Washington Sundar (13) and Shivam Dube (23) came ahead of De Villiers to bat.
Virat Kohli (48) anchored the RCB innings from one end but he failed to find the boundaries at regular intervals. By the time AB arrived he had to go after each delivery.
Mohammed Shami picked up both Kohli and De Villiers in the 18th over to give KXIP a definitive upper hand.
In the end, some late hitting from Chris Morris (25*) and Isuru Udana (10*) lifted Royal Challengers Bangalore to 171 for 6 in 20 overs.
For KXIP, Mhammed Shami (2/45) and Murugan Ashwin (2/23) scalped two wickets each, while Arshdeep Singh and Chris Jordan picked one wicket each.
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