Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Faf du Plessis admired the power-hitting of Punjab Kings’ batters as they gunned down a 206-run target with an over to spare in Match 3 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 on Sunday.

Faf du Plessis hit a stunning 88 from just 57 balls but RCB ended up on the losing side in his first match as captain. PBKS rode on some stunning power-hitting from Shikhar Dhawan (43 off 29), Bhanuka Rajapaksha (43 off 22), Liam Livingstone (19 off 10), Odean Smith (25 not out of 8 balls) and Shahrukh Khan (24 off 20).

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At no point after captain Mayank Agarwal and Dhawan stitched a 71-run stand in just 7.1 overs, PBKS looked under pressure in what looked like a steep chase. Mohammed Siraj conceded 59 runs in 4 overs while expensive Sri Lanka spinner Wanindu Hasaranga scored 40 runs in his 4-over quota as RCB were taken to the cleaners.

Faf du Plessis, recollecting the crunch moments in the game, highlighted the dropped catch of Odean Smith when the West Indies big-hitter was batting on 1 in the 17th over. RCB also dropped Shikhar Dhawan once as Dinesh Karthik missed a tough chance after failing to make use of a straightforward opportunity to stump the PBKS opener earlier in the game.

“The catches towards the end Odean Smith 25 off 8 balls.. I think we probably dropped him on 10. After that, we are looking at some tailenders coming in. The cliche of catches win watches,” Faf du Plessis said.

“There was a bit of dew out there, a tough night for the bowlers, but I thought they were pretty decent with the wet ball. Small margins, but they chased it down really well. They had a really good powerplay.

“The ball skidded on a bit more in the second innings and then we pulled it back beautifully.

“We did a lot of good things in the middle. But you know what Odean Smith can do to you. So you got to hold on to those chances.

‘I AM TIRED’

“Even the other guy, Shahrukh Khan, didn’t really nail it tonight until the last couple of balls. So a completely different game if you hold on to those chances,” he added.

Expressing delight for his knock of 88, du Plessis added: “I am tired! That First innings running, ohh (smiles). I am just glad I got away without injuring myself because I spent so much time on my elbows diving. It was tough to start with the bat today. The first four overs the ball was swinging, I was 1 off 10 I guess. Clutching the bat a bit hard but pleasing to get through it.”

Du Plessis looked as if he was struggling for timing after Mayank won the toss and opted to bowl but the South Africa batter switched gears effortlessly. The RCB captain did not panic as he was facing dot balls at the start as he went on a six-hitting mode to make up for all those deliveries towards the end of the innings.

However, Faf du Plessis broke the shackles in the 13th over, bowled by West Indies pacer Odean Smith as the RCB skipper tonked the fast bowler for 2 sixes and a boundary. There was no looking back from there on as the South Africa star hit 7 sixes and 3 boundaries and ran hard between the wickets in his 118-run stand with Virat Kohli.