The Punjab Kings picked up a crucial win against the Royal Challengers Bangalore as AB de Villiers was dismissed cheaply in Ahmedabad on Friday night.

After being sent into bat, PBKS were clinical with bat and ball winning by an impressive 34 runs.

KL Rahul (91) and Chris Gayle’s (46) 80-run partnership set up the PBKS innings and the match. Gayle was the aggressor initially scoring at a strike-rate of over 200 while Rahul anchored the innings and paced it masterfully. PBKS ended on a very competitive 179-5 in their 20 overs.

RCB’s chase was subdued from the onset, this was the case even though Virat Kohli (35) batted until the 11th over. RCB were always struggling in their chase but a dream spell from Harpreet Brar (3-19) made sure PBKS were dominant. The left-arm orthodox spinner picked up the wickets of Kohli, Glenn Maxwell (0) and AB de Villiers (3) and was on a hat-trick. A few overs later leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi (2-17) was also on a hat-trick to emphasize PBKS’s grip on the match, RCB eventually limped to 145-8.

Despite the loss, RCB are still in a playoff position on five wins while PBKS have reignited their playoff push with this important victory.