IPL23 Match No 27 RCB vs PBKS This match RCB won by 24 runs.Mohammed Siraj (Player of the Match): "Imissedmy length on the first ball and bowled a bit short.Igot some swing so thought ofpitching it a bit up.IfI pick a wicket in the poweplay then I will setthe tone for the future matches as the oppositionteam gets under pressure.The lockdown was most important for mebecause my performances went down beforethat. I thought it as my last year and gave my bestin the lockdown. I worked hard in the gym andfocused on my bowling which made me confidentin the next IPL.Ihave recently played one-day internationalsso feeling myself in a good rhythm. The ball isleaving the wrists well. My confidence is very high.Iam an excellent fielder sometimes I do misfield.I want to improve in every facet of the gamebecauseIdon't want to lose my place in the teamfor not being able to do this or that so I want toimprove in every facet of the game."Mohammed Siraj is the player of the match andalso gets the Purple Cap.Virat Kohli (Royal Challengers Bangalore Captain):"Yeah, exactly that's what I said earlier:. This resultdoesn't make us an invincible team and theresults before this game doesn't make us a badteam. The table doesn't define your mood. It'stowards games 12-13 that decides where we are.We assessed the conditions really well. Theconditions changed drastically in the first half.Ithink Faf batted outstandingly in the first innings.The way he batted helped us add 20-30 extraruns to the total. We had to spend some extratime since we weren't batting deep.I felt the wicket underneath was rough. As soonas the 7-8 over was done, the ball was goingbashed through the square, and the ball wasgetting scuffed up. I think there was not enoughwater there as the pitch stays shiny if it is donewell. There were hardly any sixes hit off the backfoot against the spinners. Even off the seamers,the ball wasn't going well.Had we stayed in we hada chance to givea cracktowards 190 or 200. At the end, it was a goodjobto get 175.I told the bowlers to keep your chesthigh, keep your heads high and tell that you can take the wickets here. Cannot afford to take thegame deep when they are 6-7 wickets down. Mostof the teams bat deep but we had options for theball. 25 runs give you good enough margins ofboost to your run rate.At the halfway stage of the game, the thoughtwas to set the intensity to the opposition andyou kinda break the game open when you takefour wickets in the powerplay as well. I think youcannot break the game one endas well, We justneed to be present out there and take the game."Wanindu Hasaranga (Royal ChallengersBangalore): "Yeah, there was a little bit of grip forthe spinners and I tried to bowl wicket-to-wicketkeeping it tighter. Also tried to bowl my primarywicket-taking (Googly) deliveries. I didn't think Icould manage a direct hit (Sam Curran run-out)from there and get a run-out It was unbelievable.Happy with the win, a great atmosphere here atRCB andI am enjoying the time."Sam Curran (Punjab Kings Captain): "I thoughtwe played really well as a group. The way Fafand Virat played was really good as well, credit tothem. But at the same timeI felt they got awefrom us too well. In the end we didn't probablybat well enough.Sam Curran (Punjab Kings Captain): "T thoughtwe played really well as a group. The way Fafand Virat played was really good as well, credit tothem. But at the same time I felt they got awayfrom us too well. In the end we didn't probablybat well enough.They bowled well and we lost wickets early withsome run outs as well. The conditions were quitestrange as wel. We thought it was gonna rain tone stage. Lots to learn from.Its a really good wicket with good sized boundaries. Any wicket which you play on mustbe good wicket. Fair contest with batand ball. Istill think the wicket was really good today. Wedid a lot of things right today butjust a couple ofthings with the bat we probably would look backon and regroup.The games come thick and fast. We go back toMumbai on Saturday, so I guess its not panic. Itsjust about learning from it andI am sure Mumbaiwill be a really gOod wicket for our batters as iCredit to RCB but we are really excited alread,Saturday." After being sent to bat first, Faf du Plessis andVirat Kohli, the usual openers set a perfectplatform for big a commendable total. Theystarted off with some crisp stroke play mixed withexcellent running between the wickets. The duostuck around for a long time and notched up 137runs for the opening wicket. This was also thehighest partnership in Mohali. In addition, thiswas the second time a century-plus stand waswitnessed in this edition of IPL, and guess whwas RCB again.The first breakthrough came in the first ball of The first breakthrough came in the first ball ofthe 17th over when skipper Sam Curran handedthe ball to Harpreet Brar. The left-arm spinnerenforced two wickets in two balls removingVirat Kohli and Glenn Maxwell. Faf playedsome outrageous shots but was taken abackby the wittiness of Nathan Ellis. With some latecontributions from the middle order, RCB couldfetch 174 runs on the board for the loss of fourwickets. Faf du Plessis (84) and Virat Kohli (59)were the highest run-getters while Brar emerwith two wickets.Arriving for the chase, Punjab Kings were out onthe back foot by the RCB bowlers. MohammedSiraj and Wayne Parnell operated from both endsenforcing a flurry of wickets in the Dhawan-lessPunjab side. Atharva Taide failed to gleam for thesecond time in the competition while Matt Shortreturned back with just eight runs.Liam Livingstone was a no-show on his firstexposure in the 16th edition of IPL The middleorder collapsed and it was just PrabhsimranSingh (46) who looked strong from the topfive. It felt as if he was filling the big shoes of usual skipper Shikhar Dhawan and was doing afabulous job.Whenever the Punjab-based franchise tried tostitch partnerships, RCB bowlers returned witha scalp. Mohammed Siraj was spitting venomtoday and was well assisted by Wayne Parnelland Harshal Patel. Although Jitesh Sharma (41off27) was the lone assaulter for PBKS, he failed tosteer his side past the finishing line. Virat Kohlidropped his catch while the gloveman was orbut it didn't matter much as Siraj took the onu.of all-out folding on his own shoulders. Wanindu Hasaranga was sensational with the ball andon the field as well. He bagged two wickets andforced a run-out on Harpreet Singh Bhatia.One of the big positives for RCB was the numberof successful reviews they had. Includingtwo spot-on reviews for a wide in the firstinnings, they've taken four successful reviews.Mohammed Siraj was the star with four wicketsunder his name. In the end, Punjab Kings couldgather just 150 runs on the board, which mea24 runs victory for RCB.