Punjab Vs Bengaluru Live Cricket Score - Live Cricket Score, Qualifier 1 - Commentary

Right then, a game that promised so much but turned out to be a one-sided affair, with RCB delivering a thumping win to book their place in the IPL final for the fourth time. Their opponent will be decided over the coming days. Next up is the Eliminator in Mullanpur on Friday, 30th May, where the Gujarat face the Mumbai. The winner will head to Ahmedabad to take on the Punjab in Qualifier 2 for a spot in the final, while the loser will bow out of the tournament. The first ball will be bowled at 7.30 pm IST (2 pm GMT), but as always, we will be here well in advance to bring you all the build-up. Until then, take care and goodbye!

Suyash Sharma is the PLAYER OF THE MATCH for his superb bowling performance. He shares that he sticks to his plan of attacking the stumps. Believes that the help he got from the surface made it difficult for the batters to read him. Mentions that the googly is his stock ball. Hopes that they can celebrate on the night of the final.

The captain of Bengaluru, Rajat Patidar, says that they were very clear with their plans and the fast bowlers used the conditions well and then Suyash was superb in the middle overs as well. Adds that he is clear about Suyash's bowling and he has to attack the stumps and the wrong'un is very hard to pick. Mentions that Salt has been amazing for them throughout the season and he himself is a big fan of him. Ends by acknowledging the support of the RCB fans and says that they have been fantastic wherever they have gone, just one more to go and then they will celebrate together.

Time for the presentation ceremony...

RCB's Phil Salt is in for a chat. He says that it is a great feeling to make it to the final. Adds that they had a second chance had they not won but he is happy that they made it to the final in the first attempt. Mentions that the ball did move a bit but it was not the worst wicket of the season. Shares that he had said to himself not to get out to Arshdeep Singh since he had dismissed him twice this season. Feels that it was a blessing in disguise that they did not have a long break between the final league game and this game. Believes that momentum is a good thing towards the back end of the tournament and he is happy that they are hitting their straps as a unit.

The captain of Punjab, Shreyas Iyer, says that they have to go back to the drawing board and see what went wrong. Adds that they failed to read the wicket properly and need to take more responsibility in the batting department. Mentions that he does not want to doubt his decisions, it's just that they failed to execute their plans out there. Says that whenever they have played here, there has been some variable bounce. Tells that he can't even blame the bowlers, as it was such a low score, and they need to improve their batting. Ends by saying that they have lost the battle, not the war.

Earlier in the night, RCB chose to bowl first, a decision that raised some eyebrows given that the previous three night games at this venue had been won by the teams batting first. The Bengaluru seamers made good use of the conditions, with some nibble and lift off the deck. However, Punjab didn’t help their cause with their shot selection. They never seemed to rein in their attacking instincts, and wickets kept falling one after another. Marcus Stoinis tried to mount a counterattack but could manage only 26 runs on the night. Josh Hazlewood and Suyash Sharma were the main destroyers, each finishing with three wickets.

With just 102 runs to get, all RCB needed was a composed start to ease the early nerves. Virat Kohli struck a few crisp boundaries to get things going before falling, but by then, RCB already had 30 on the board. In the same over, Kyle Jamieson had Mayank Agarwal all at sea and that was as good as it got for Punjab in their defence. Phil Salt went after Jamieson in the next over, and saw his team home by staying there at the end with an unbeaten 56.

As dominant as a performance can be! Bengaluru storm their way into the final, reaching their first summit clash since 2016. Interestingly, it was on this very date, 29th May, that they fell just short against Hyderabad in the final that year. 9 years later, they have a chance to rewrite history. Meanwhile, the night went as wrong as it could for the Punjab. Despite being thoroughly outplayed, they are not done yet. They will get another opportunity to book their place in the final through Qualifier 2 in Ahmedabad.

30 runs for Rajat Patidar 9.6Musheer Khan to Rajat Patidar. SIX, SIX! SMOKED! Rajat Patidar finishes things off in style! Musheer Khan gives this one some more flight, full and on leg. Patidar opens up his body and bludgeons it over the deep square leg fence for a biggie. RCB WIN BY 8 WICKETS AND MARCH INTO THE FINAL!

100 runs for RCB 9.5Musheer Khan to Phil Salt. 1 run, Loops it up, full and on leg, Phil Salt tucks it through mid-wicket for one more. 100 up for RCB and they just need 2 more runs to win.

9.4Musheer Khan to Rajat Patidar. 1 run, Quicker, full and on middle, Rajat Patidar drills it to long off for one.

9.3Musheer Khan to Rajat Patidar. FOUR, FOUR! Fine shot! Flighted, full and on middle and off. Rajat Patidar goes inside out and smacks it away wide of long off for a boundary.

9.2Musheer Khan to Phil Salt. 1 run, Goes short and around off, Phil Salt punches it through covers for a run.

9.1Musheer Khan to Rajat Patidar. 1 run, Tossed up, full and on off, Rajat Patidar knocks it towards long off for a single.

STRATEGIC BREAK! Just the formalities left to be completed here in Mullanpur. RCB are a mere 10 runs away from sealing their first IPL final appearance since 2016 and what a night it’s been for them. In stark contrast, it’s been a night to forget for Shreyas Iyer and his men, one they will want to quickly move past as they shift focus to Qualifier 2.

8.6Harpreet Brar to Phil Salt. no run, Slower through the air, full and on off, Phil Salt taps it to covers.

8.5Harpreet Brar to Phil Salt. FOUR, FOUR! Put away! Quicker, short and outside off, Phil Salt gets the chance to free his arms and cuts it away nicely through point for a boundary. RCB are just 10 runs away from the final now!

8.4Harpreet Brar to Rajat Patidar. 1 run, Floated, full and on off, Rajat Patidar eases it to long off for another run.

8.3Harpreet Brar to Rajat Patidar. no run, Tossed up, full and on middle, Rajat Patidar knocks it down the pitch.

50 runs for Phil Salt 8.2Harpreet Brar to Phil Salt. 1 run, FIFTY FOR SALT! His fourth of the season, and the fastest ever for him in the IPL, as he gets to his in just 23 balls. Flighted, full and around off, Phil Salt pushes it through covers for a single.

8.1Harpreet Brar to Rajat Patidar. 1 run, Short and on middle, Rajat Patidar nudges it through mid-wicket for a run.

7.6Musheer Khan to Rajat Patidar. 1 run, Flatter, full and on leg, Rajat Patidar works it through square leg for one.

The captain of RCB, Rajat Patidar, walks out to bat.

7.5Musheer Khan to Mayank Agarwal. out, OUT! TAKEN! Musheer Khan gets a wicket! Something to smile about for PBKS! This is fired in full and down the leg side. Mayank Agarwal is out of his crease and looks to flick but misses as the ball passes very close to his bat. It deflects off the keeper's glove and loops up as Shreyas Iyer from first slip moves forward and takes the catch. There is a shout for dismissal. The two umpires get together and send it upstairs. UltraEdge shows a clear spike when the ball passes the toe-end of the bat, and the replay shows that the ball has not pitched after hitting the bat. The catch is also clean, and Agarwal has to walk back here.

Gone? Was there bat involved? If yes, did it go down onto the turf after hitting the bat? A couple of questions that need to be answered here. Yes, there is a spike, confirming that it did go off the bat. And it went directly onto the gloves of the keeper before it lobbed towards first slip. OUT!

7.4Musheer Khan to Mayank Agarwal. FOUR, FOUR! RCB are in a hurry now! Looped up, full and on off, Mayank Agarwal leans on and creams it through extra covers. Nehal Wadhera runs to his right and tries to stop it with his right boot, but it just trickles onto the fence for a boundary. Just 18 runs needed now!

7.3Musheer Khan to Mayank Agarwal. SIX, SIX! That is a lovely stroke! Flighted, full and around middle. Mayank Agarwal backs away a bit, reaches out for it, and tonks it over the bowler's head for a biggie.

7.2Musheer Khan to Phil Salt. 1 run, Tossed up nicely, full and on leg, Phil Salt drills it to long on for a run.

7.1Musheer Khan to Mayank Agarwal. 1 run, Tossed up, full and on leg, Mayank Agarwal clips it through mid-wicket for a single.

6.6Harpreet Brar to Mayank Agarwal. 1 run, Looped up, full and around off, Mayank Agarwal drills it through cover-point for one more. 11 runs off the over, 32 from the last two! Bengaluru need 30 more runs to make it to the final.

6.5Harpreet Brar to Phil Salt. 1 run, Slows it up, short and on off, Phil Salt backs away and punches it through covers for one. He moves to 48 now!

6.4Harpreet Brar to Mayank Agarwal. 1 run, Tossed up, full and on off, Mayank Agarwal pushes it towards short covers where the fielder dives to his left but parries it to long off. They cross.

6.3Harpreet Brar to Phil Salt. 1 run, Flighted, full and on off, Phil Salt drives it through covers for a run.

6.2Harpreet Brar to Phil Salt. SIX, SIX! BOOM! There is no stopping Salt now! Harpreet Brar drops it short again and on middle and leg. Phil Salt clears his front leg away and absolutely smashes it over the deep mid-wicket fence for a biggie. The question is how far he has hit that - 94 METERS!

6.1Harpreet Brar to Mayank Agarwal. 1 run, Floated, short and on middle, Mayank Agarwal sits down on a knee and pulls it to deep square leg for a single.

5.6Kyle Jamieson to Phil Salt. SIX, SIX! BANG! 21 runs off this over! Pitched up and outside off. Phil Salt extends his arms to get underneath it and carves it over the deep extra cover fence for a biggie. Bengaluru are 61/1 at the end of the Powerplay!

5.5Kyle Jamieson to Phil Salt. FOUR, FOUR! Easy pickings! Bangs this one short and on middle, sits up nicley for the batter. Phil Salt gets on top of it and heaves it over mid-wicket for another boundary.

30 runs for Phil Salt 50 runs for RCB 5.4Kyle Jamieson to Phil Salt. FOUR, FOUR! 50 up for RCB now! Kyle Jamieson goes a bit too full this time, on off. Phil Salt pounces on that one and crunches it through covers for a boundary.

5.3Kyle Jamieson to Phil Salt. 2 runs, Streaky! Good length and around off, shapes away, Phil Salt throws his bat at it but gets an outside edge wide of third man. Arshdeep Singh dives to his right to make a good stop. Two runs taken.

5.2Kyle Jamieson to Mayank Agarwal. 1 run, Uppish but safe! Fuller one and on the pads, Mayank Agarwal whips it away just on the bounce to deep square leg for a single.

5.1Kyle Jamieson to Mayank Agarwal. FOUR, FOUR! Mayank Agarwal finally gets off the mark with a nice shot! Kyle Jamieson lands this on a good length, on middle, angling in. Mayank shimmies down the track to cut the swing and pats it down the ground. He times it well as the ball races past mid on for a boundary.

4.6Azmatullah Omarzai to Phil Salt. FOUR, FOUR! Threads it through! This is on a short of a length, on off, Phil Salt waits back and opens the bat face to glide it between backward point and short third for a boundary.

4.5Azmatullah Omarzai to Phil Salt. 2 runs, On a back of a length, on off, Phil Salt waits on it and steers it with an open bat face to the left of backward point for a brace.

4.4Azmatullah Omarzai to Phil Salt. no run, Slight hesitation but no harm done! Lands it on a back of a length, outside off, Phil Salt chops it down off an inside edge and it sneaks past the stumps. The batters think about a single but decide against it.

4.3Azmatullah Omarzai to Phil Salt. FOUR, FOUR Smashed! Width offered on off, on a good length, Salt frees his arms and thrashes it past cover for a boundary.

4.2Azmatullah Omarzai to Phil Salt. no run, An absolute beauty! On a naggig length, angling in and then nipping away, Phil Salt is opened up in his defence and the ball goes past the outside edge.

4.1Azmatullah Omarzai to Phil Salt. no run, Full and on off, Phil Salt drives it firmly towards cover.

maiden over bowled by Kyle Jamieson 3.6Kyle Jamieson to Mayank Agarwal. no run, A loud shout for caught behind! This time, they all go up and the finger also goes up. Mayank Agarwal goes for the review. On a length, nibbling away, Mayank has a waft at the delivery and the keeper, Josh Inglis, snaffles it easily but the UltraEdge shows a flat line and the decision has been reversed.

3.5Kyle Jamieson to Mayank Agarwal. no run, Outside off, on a length, moving away, Mayank Agarwal lets it be.

3.4Kyle Jamieson to Mayank Agarwal. no run, Beaten again! And again, some of the Punjab fielders seemed to have heard a noise. The crowd are right into it now, but Shreyas Iyer opts against the review. Fuller in length, outside off, curving away, Mayank uses his feet and fiddles at the delivery away from his body. The replays show a gap between the bat and the pad.

3.3Kyle Jamieson to Mayank Agarwal. no run, Almost another! The men square of the wicket think they heard something but Punjab are not going for the review. Seaming away, on a nagging length, just outside the off stump, Mayank Agarwal is rooted to the crease and is searching for the ball. The ball zips past the outside edge.

Mayank Agarwal walks out to bat at number 3. He is the Impact Sub for RCB and replaces Suyash Sharma.

3.2Kyle Jamieson to Virat Kohli. out, OUT! CAUGHT BEHIND! Kyle Jamieson gets the reward for some disciplined bowling! Jamieson hits the deck hard, in the channel on off, Virat Kohli pushes at the delivery away from his body. The away movement off the deck and a bit of extra bounce result in the ball grazing the outside edge of the bat on the poke. The keeper, Josh Inglis takes the simplest of catches around his waist.

3.1Kyle Jamieson to Virat Kohli. no run, On a hard length, moving away, on off, Virat Kohli plays it back to the bowler from the crease.

2.6Arshdeep Singh to Phil Salt. SIX, SIX! Clean as a whistle! Arshdeep Singh serves the short ball but fails to get it enough to trouble the batter, on middle, Phil Salt stands tall and hammers it over deep mid-wicket for a biggie. RCB are off to a fine start. They are 30/0 after 3 overs.

2.5Arshdeep Singh to Phil Salt. no run, Going across, on a back of a length, Phil Salt steers it towards backward point.

2.4Arshdeep Singh to Phil Salt. FOUR, FOUR! Edgy! Arshdeep takes pace off and goes into the wicket, over middle, Phil is early into the pull and gets into an awkward position as he tries to pull. The ball gets big on him and catches the top edge to go over the keeper.

2.3Arshdeep Singh to Virat Kohli. 1 run, Banged in short, over middle, Virat Kohli does not quite get hold of it and mistimes the pull towards deep backward square leg for one. Virat admonishes himself on failing to put it away.

2.2Arshdeep Singh to Phil Salt. 1 run, On a back of a length, on middle, Salt swivels and pulls it to deep backward square leg for one.

2.1Arshdeep Singh to Virat Kohli. 1 run, Buzzers! On a hard length, on off, Virat Kohli rides the bounce and dabs it down. The ball dribbles behind the stumps towards the keeper and the batters think about sneaking in a single. Josh Inglis has a shy at the batting end but misses. Arshdeep Singh makes a half-stop on his follow through and the ball dribbles behind for an overthrow.

1.6Kyle Jamieson to Virat Kohli. 1 run, On a back of a length, on off, Kohli glides it in front of short third and takes a quick single.

1.5Kyle Jamieson to Virat Kohli. no run, Shaping away again, on a good length, Virat Kohli drives it on the up and times it sweetly but straight to the man at cover. Kyle would not mind Kohli reaching out as he did on this ball but surpisingly, there is no slip in place.

1.4Kyle Jamieson to Virat Kohli. no run, Much better from Kyle Jamieson! Curving away, on a length, in the channel on off, Virat Kohli has a poke at it and gets beaten on the outside edge.

1.3Kyle Jamieson to Virat Kohli. FOUR, FOUR! Nicely done! A bit too straight from Kyle, on a nagging length, Virat Kohli knows that there is no one in the deep at fine leg. VK walks inside the line and glances it away to the right of deep backward square leg for a boundary.

1.2Kyle Jamieson to Phil Salt. 1 run, Pulls the length back and there is a bit of away nibble, outside off, Salt gets on the back foot and shovels it in front of square on the leg side for a single.

1.1Kyle Jamieson to Phil Salt. no run, Pitched up at 134.2 kph, on off, Phil Salt winds up and drills it along the ground. Shreyas Iyer does well to move to his left at mid off and tumbles to cut it off. That stung Iyer on the hand as he made the stop.

Kyle Jamieson to bowl from the other end.

0.6Arshdeep Singh to Phil Salt. 1 run, Lands it full and it moves back in the air, on middle, Salt eases it to the right of mid on and takes a single. 11 runs off the first over of the chase.

0.5Arshdeep Singh to Virat Kohli. 1 run, Straying on the pads, on a back of a length, VK whips it off the pads towards deep backward square leg for a single.

0.4Arshdeep Singh to Virat Kohli. no run, Shaping back in, on a length, on off and middle, Virat Kohli gets behind the line and stabs it beside the pitch on the leg side.

0.3Arshdeep Singh to Virat Kohli. leg byes, 4 runs, FOUR LEG BYES! A bit of inward shape, on a good length but on the pads, Virat misses the tickle and it goes off the pads towards the deep fine leg fence for a boundary.

0.2Arshdeep Singh to Virat Kohli. FOUR, FOUR! Virat Kohli is off and running! Arshdeep bangs it into the deck and it is angled across, Kohli gets on top of the bounce and smears the pull to the left of mid-wicket for a boundary.

0.1Arshdeep Singh to Phil Salt. 1 run, Phil Salt and RCB are underway! This is on a back of a length, on off, at 126 kph, Phil Salt stands tall and dabs it to the left of backward point for a single.