8th Match: Punjab XI vs Bangalore XI at Bengaluru, Apr 13, 2018
Bangalore XI won by 4 wickets
Punjab XI 155/10 (19.2)
Bangalore XI 159/6 (19.3)
RR: 8.15
Last 12 Balls: W 1 2 W 1 . | 4 . 4
Current Partnership: 8 runs, 0.5 overs, RR: 9.6 (Washington Sundar, Chris Woakes )
Last Wicket: Mandeep Singh 22(19)
Man of the Match: Umesh Yadav
Virat Kohli: Very happy. First home game is crucial. Last year, we couldn't get off to a start. Crowd has a lot of expectations, and tonight was a game we wanted badly, especially in the initial stages of the tournament. We knew new ball will come on nicely, and thie batsmen hit some good shots. Umesh bowled well; getting three wickets in an over is great. Our mindset is - we want our best bowlers to step up and get confident early on. When only five are playing, you have to hit your areas well. They have done well. I think 170 would have been par. (The pitch is) slightly better than the last year but against the older ball, middle overs can be difficult. We have lost two wickets in two balls in the last two games, so we have to work on them. Maybe stitch a little partnership. Back to back wickets pushes you back in the eight ball.
Ravichandran Ashwin: I am really proud of the way the boys fought. Always thought we had our backs against the wall because we were about 20-30 short. Still we fought hard and I am proud of the guys. (If the toss is crucial this season) Cannot always depend on the tosses, tournaments are won on good performances. (Whether the RCB top order is intimidating) Not that intimidating to be honest, pressure is on them actually due to their reputations. I thought our boys did well by putting in a good effort. (If KXIP are spin-heavy) I think the best bowlers are still going to be the best ones. This wicket wasn't exactly great for spin bowling with the dew around but we showed them what we are capable of. At the end of the day, good bowlers are still good bowlers.
Bangalore won by 4 wickets
19.3
4
4
Over 19.3 Mohit Sharma bowls a pitched up delivery to Washington Sundar, Boundary! Stays leg side and driven beautifully through cover and gets the winning runs with boundary.
19.2
0
0
Over 19.2 Mohit Sharma good length delivery to Washington Sundar, no runs, gets forward and tries to pokes at it, the ball beats the outside edge of the bat.
