RCB win by 6 runs

Henriques hit a six in the last over by Harshal but it didn’t matter. PBKS started strong in the chase but lost their way in the middle overs. Virat Kohli and Co become the third team to qualify for the playoffs!

PBKS 146/6 after 19.1 overs: WICKET! Sharp work from Harshal Patel in his follow through as he runs out Shahrukh Khan. Harpreet is the new batter. PBKS need 19 off 5.

PBKS 146/5 after 19 overs: Shahrukh manages to pick up a boundary but a good over by Siraj, just eight runs from it. He kept attacking that line well outside off. Punjab need 19 off the last six balls.

PBKS 138/5 after 18 overs: SIX! Harshal pitches it slightly short and Shahrukh Khan pulls it a long way. Ten runs come from that over. Punjab need 27 off 12.

PBKS 127/5 after 16.5 overs: WICKET! Markram was looking dangerous but Garton has sent him packing. The PBKS innings is collapsing! They need 38 off 19.

Chahal finishes with excellent figures of 3/29 from his four overs.

PBKS 121/4 after 15.5 overs: WICKET! An absolute peach of a delivery from Yuzvendra Chahal! Sarfaraz Khan is gone first ball. It was angled in and spun sharply to beat the bat and crash into the stumps. Stunning! Shahrukh Khan is the new batter.

PBKS 114/3 after 15.2 overs: WICKET! Yuzvendra Chahal gets Mayank Agarwal! Crucial breakthrough for #RCB as the required rate was starting to dip. Sarfaraz Khan is the new batter.

PBKS 113/2 after 15 overs: A boundary each for Mayank and Markram! Expensive over from Siraj, his lengths were all over the place in that over without any change in pace. Punjab need 52 off 30.

PBKS 102/2 after 14 overs: Another fine over for RCB, this time by Garton. Markram is the new batter at the crease. Punjab need 63 off 36.

PBKS 99/2 after 12.5 overs: WICKET! Pooran goes for a slog and gets a top edge which is caught by Padikkal. Chahal strikes as RCB continue to fight back with the ball.

FIFTY for Mayank Agarwal! The PBKS opener has taken 36 balls to get there. He has looked solid so far but still has a big job on his hands.

PBKS 94/1 after 12 overs: Superb over from Harshal, four dot balls and just two singles from it. The Purple Cap holder has figures of 0/5 from two overs at the moment. Pooran and Mayank will need to try and bring the required rate down soon.

PBKS 91/1 after 10.5 overs: WICKET! Shahbaz Ahmed gets RCB the breakthrough! KL Rahul tries to smash one but gets an edge to short third. PBKS need 74 off 55.

PBKS 81/0 after 10 overs: Two fours for Mayank as he decides to go after Chahal. The first one was over extra-cover and the next one was straight over. Punjab need 84 off 60.

PBKS 72/0 after 9 overs: The Punjab innings is moving along nicely. Rahul (37 off 31) and Mayank (30 off 24) aren’t taking risks and picking runs freely.

PBKS 56/0 after 7 overs: Chahal comes on to bowl and the Punjab openers manage to pick seven runs in his first over.

PBKS 49/0 after 6 overs: Harshal joins the attack and bowls a much-needed quiet over for RCB. This is a solid start for Punjab, though.

PBKS 46/0 after 5 overs: Big over for Punjab! Shahbaz Ahmed joins the attack and Rahul welcomes him with a six straight over. Mayank follows that up with a four through the off side ring. He then survives a caught-behind and stumping shout.

PBKS 33/0 after 4 overs: SIX! This time Mayank latches on to the slower ball and whacks it for a maximum. Expensive over from Garton.

PBKS 19/0 after 3 overs: A monstrous six from Rahul! He picked the slower ball from Siraj early and hit a 101-meter maximum over mid-wicket. That went straight on to the road outside the Sharjah stadium. Rahul then survives an LBW shout. The umpire raised his finger but DRS showed an inside edge.

PBKS 7/0 after 2 overs: Still no boundary for Punjab as Garton concedes just four runs in his first over. Rahul and Co need to make the most of the powerplay.

PBKS 3/0 after 1 over: Good start from Siraj, just three runs come from the first over. Rahul and Mayank have been solid at the top of the order for Punjab this season. Their team needs another good start from them today.

5.30 pm: RCB have set PBKS a target of 165 in Sharjah. Virat Kohli and Co will be through to the playoffs if they win. We’re ready for the chase!

RCB finish with 164/7

Harshal Patel plays out the hat-trick ball by Mohammed Shami. Virat Kohli and Co have achieved the highest score at Sharjah this season.

RCB 163/7 after 19.5 overs: WICKET! Shami has his third wicket of the final over! He is on a hat-trick now. George Garton attempts a scoop but is clean bowled.

RCB 163/6 after 19.4 overs: WICKET! Another strike by Shami in the final over of the innings. This time it’s Shahbaz Ahmed who is clean bowled.

RCB 157/5 after 19.2 overs: WICKET! Shami gets his first as Maxwell is caught by Sarfaraz. The Aussie right-hander walks back after a highly entertaining 57 off 33.

RCB 156/4 after 19 overs: Arshdeep concedes 16 runs in the penultimate over as Maxwell pulls the last ball for four. The in-form left-arm pacer returns with forgettable figures of 0/42 from three overs.

RCB 146/4 after 18.3 overs: WICKET! Fine work from Sarfaraz Khan as he gets the direct hit from mid-off. AB de Villiers is run out for 23 off 18, just as he was starting to get into his groove.

RCB 140/3 after 18 overs: Glenn Maxwell completes a hat-trick of half-centuries! He gets there in just 29 balls and on the back of some stunning strokeplay. Ravi Bishnoi finishes with figures of 0/35 from his four overs.

RCB 132/3 after 17 overs: Huge over for RCB! Maxwell picks up another boundary before ABD hits Shami for a four and a six. Poor bowling from the senior pacer there, kept pitching it in the slot.

RCB 115/3 after 16 overs: Henriques finishes with excellent figures of 3/12 from his four overs. This spell could go a long way in determining the outcome of this match.

RCB 109/3 after 15 overs: Two more sixes for Maxwell! This time he attacks Bishnoi and gives RCB another big over. The right-hander is perhaps in the form of his life at the moment. He makes hitting monstrous sixes look so easy.

RCB 89/3 after 13 overs: Two sixes! Maxwell decides to cut loose and goes after Harpreet. The right-hander times it sweetly and peppers the on side with two brilliant shots. A much-needed switch in momentum for RCB.

RCB 73/3 after 11.4 overs: WICKET! Moises Henriques is on fire! He gets his third wicket with his 10th ball. This time Devdutt Padikkal edges it and KL Rahul takes a good catch standing up to the stumps. The left-hander departs for 40 off 38. AB de Villiers is the new batter.

RCB 68/2 after 9.5 overs: WICKET! Moises Henriques has two in two! Dan Christian, promoted up the order, hits it hard and Sarfaraz Khan takes a sharp catch. Maxwell is the new batter.

RCB 68/1 after 9.4 overs: WICKET! Moises Henriques gets PBKS the breakthrough! Virat Kohli is clean bowled after attempting a wild slog. He departs for 25 off 24.

RCB 67/0 after 9 overs: SIX! Kohli breaks the shackles after two quiet overs. It was tossed up by Harpreet and the right-hander swept it for a maximum.

RCB 60/0 after 8 overs: Padikkal survives! He was beaten twice by Bishnoi and then attempted a reverse sweep, the ball beat his bat and Rahul did well to gather it. The PBKS skipper was certain there was a faint edge but the umpire said not out. They went for the review and it showed a bit of a spike when the ball was passing Padikkal’s gloves but surprisingly, the third umpire said not out. Rahul was not at all pleased with the decision as he saw the replay on the big screen. He argued with the on-field umpire but that, of course, didn’t help.

RCB 57/0 after 7 overs: Left-arm Harpreet Brar joins the attack and bowls a top over, with just two singles and three dot balls to Kohli.

RCB 55/0 after 6 overs: Another expensive over from Arshdeep. Padikkal hits a full toss straight over for six, before flicking one nicely in the gap for four. The end of a solid powerplay for RCB.

RCB 42/0 after 5 overs: Shot! Shami gets too straight and Kohli uses his wrists masterfully to whip it away for four. This is a good start for RCB, Sharjah hasn’t been a high-scoring ground this season and they will be happy with the progress they have made so far.

RCB 34/0 after 4 overs: Kohli survives! Bishnoi joins the attack and fires it down leg as Kohli steps out, but Rahul doesn’t gather the ball and the RCB skipper gets back in. The leg-spinner then has a fascinating battle with Padikkal. He gets hit over mid-on for four, then beats the left-hander’s outside edge twice, before getting hit over his head for four again.

RCB 24/0 after 3 overs: SIX! Arshdeep drifts onto the pads and Padikkal flicks it stylishly for the first maximum of the match. He follows that up with a four over backward point. Big over for RCB.

RCB 11/0 after 2 overs: Kohli with a gorgeous straight drive but the outfield is slow and they can pick up just two runs. Tidy first over from Shami.

RCB 5/0 after 1 over: Markram drops the second ball short and Kohli pulls it away for four. Interesting move by Rahul to open the bowling with the off-spinner.

3.30 pm: Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal are at the crease for RCB. Aiden Markram is opening the bowling for PBKS. We’re ready for play in Sharjah!

Playing XIs:

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli (c), Devdutt Padikkal, Srikar Bharat (w), Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers, Daniel Christian, George Garton, Shahbaz Ahmed, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal.

Punjab Kings: KL Rahul (w/c), Mayank Agarwal, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Sarfaraz Khan, Shahrukh Khan, Moises Henriques, Harpreet Brar, Mohammed Shami, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh.

Toss:

Virat Kohli has won the toss and RCB will bat first.

IPL 2021 results, fixtures and points table: RR charge back into playoff race

2.50 pm: Hello and welcome to live coverage of match No 48 of Indian Premier League 2021. In today’s first match, Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore take on KL Rahul’s Punjab Kings at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.