De Villiers was named Man of the Match for his knock of 83

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

The Royal Challengers Bangalore defeated the Rising Pune Supergiants by 13 runs courtesy of AB de Villiers’ 83 and captain Virat Kohli’s 80.

Pune captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni would have been mulling over his decision to bowl first even though his side removed opening batsman Lokesh Rahul early on. This is due to the fact that De Villiers and Kohli went on to amass an incredible 155-run partnership.

With everything having spiralled out of control, Thisara Perera provided the breakthrough when he removed Kohli for 80 off 63 balls, which included seven boundaries and two sixes.

Kohli scored his 22nd IPL fifty

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

Despite dismissing De Villiers the very next ball for 83, which came off 46 deliveries and included six boundaries and four sixes, Perera’s efforts were too little, too late as the damage had already been done.

Thanks to De Villiers and Kohli, Bangalore finished on 185/3 off their 20 overs.

Perera took all three wickets.

Chasing 186 to win, the Supergiants lost Faf du Plessis in the second over before Kevin Pietersen retired hurt with a calf injury the very next ball. To make matters worse, Steven Smith was run out by Kohli for four runs just a couple of balls later.

With the Supergiants in all sorts of trouble, Ajinkya Rahane kept Bangalore at bay for a while with his gutsy knock of 60, which came off 46 balls and included eight boundaries.

Rahane scored a valiant 60

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

After Rahane was back in the pavilion, Dhoni, Perera and Rajat Bhatia steered their side closer to victory as they made 41, 34 and 21 respectively.

However, their efforts went in vain in the end as the Supergiants fell short of their target.

Kane Richardson was the most successful bowler with three wickets, while Shane Watson snapped up two and Harshal Patel and Tabraiz Shamsi claimed one.

De Villiers was named Man of the Match.