RCB vs PBKS, IPL 2022 Stat Attack: Kohli achieves another milestone; Bairstow smashes his quickest fifty – Firstcricket News, Firstpost

Punjab Kings (PBKS) kept their playoff hopes alive with a big 54-run victory over the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the Brabourne Stadium on Friday.

Punjab were clinical both with bat and ball in the 60th match of the season, and the margin of victory gave their Net Run Rate (NRR) a sizeable boost. Mayank Agarwal’s men jumped to the sixth spot with 12 points against their name and an NRR of 0.023, two points behind Rajasthan Royals and Bangalore, currently sitting at the third and fourth spots respectively with 14 points each.

RCB, though, are by no means knocked out of the tournament as they still are fourth on the points table, within the qualification zone, though their NRR of -0.323 could prove tricky in their pursuit of a playoff spot. They face table leaders Gujarat Titans in their final league game on Thursday, while PBKS face Delhi Capitals and Sunrisers Hyderabad in their remaining fixtures — both must-win games for them.

Virat Kohli bats during the RCB-PBKS match at the Brabourne Stadium. Sportzpics

Looking back at the RCB-PBKS contest at the Brabourne on Friday, we sample some interesting numbers from the match:

— Virat Kohli became the first batter in IPL history to breach the 6,500-run mark. He has 6,519 runs to his name in 220 matches at an average of 36.22. Kohli also went past 10,500 T20 runs in the process, the first Indian to do so.

— Jonny Bairstow led the way for the PBKS with a blazing 66 off just 29 deliveries. He brought up his half-century in just 21 balls, his quickest-ever in the IPL, going past his 28-ball fifty against the same team in 2019, back when he used to open for SRH.

— RCB became the first team to concede 100 sixes in IPL 2022. The milestone was achieved when Bairstow smashed Glenn Maxwell for a straight six in the first over of the match on Friday evening.

— Dinesh Karthik’s catch to dismiss Liam Livingstone for 70 off Harshal Patel’s bowling was his 200th catch in T20 cricket.

— RCB have now conceded seven fifty-plus opening partnerships in IPL 2022, the most by any team this season. Mumbai Indians are second in the list with five 50-plus opening stands scored against them.

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