RCB vs PBKS, 48th Match at Sharjah, IPL, Oct 03 2021 - Match Result

6.10 pm That's that from Sharjah. We have three qualifiers, and there's one to be identified. KKR can help themselves towards that goal by beating SRH. Do catch up on that game. For the moment, it's goodbye from this game at Sharjah. Good night.

Glenn Maxwell is the player of the match. Says: "Came in at a nice time to bat. Lucky to hit the first couple of risks out of the middle. I feel like the last two years of IPL I have batted nicely. To have it set up by the openers today gave us some time to get an idea of the wicket. Coming into RCB they wanted me to do the exact same role (as with Australia). This (Sharjah) is probably the most difficult to adjust to. The spinners get it to skid on which means you have to be sharper at the start of your innings."

6.01 pm The presentation gets underway. Virat Kohli: "Feels amazing. After 2011, we haven't done it with games to spare. Eight wins out of 12 games is a great campaign. We have two more opportunities to finish in the top two. Should give us motivation to play even more fearlessly. When you don't have any wickets on the scoreboard, you can take more risks. Which myself and Dev [Padikkal] have to. 15-20 runs on this ground can be crucial. We have to plug those areas. As a side, we have had an endeavour to improve, whether in losses or wins. We knew the wicket would get slower and slower. KL and Mayank batted really well, but we knew we were just two wickets from coming back into the game. (On the bowlers) The resurgence of Siraj, ever since he has done well in Test cricket. Harshal's inclusion has been outstanding. Yuzi has chipped in, as has Shahbaz. Garton has come in. If the players don't step up, then the campaign goes off track."

Not long for the presentation, but just ahead of that, a quick reminder. It's KKR against SRH in Dubai, and you can follow that with Sreshth Shah and Shashank Kishore right here.

Kapil Baldawa: "Ridiculous. Pooran comes in and plays as if he doesn't know how to bat and then hits a ball in the air rather than taking 1 and rotating strike. I dare say, had he kept his cool and waited for pacers to come in, could have got this with an over to spare. Talent is one thing, temperament most important"

Yuzvendra Chahal: "(What he has done in UAE) I just believe in me. That's what I was missing in the first half. I have just backed my strength and just varied my line today. On this wicket, 160 is a very good score. We knew if we got early wickets, we could get them. In the middle overs, we decided to go more for dot balls. (On Mayank) He's a great batsman and it's always challenging to bowl to him. I didn't want to give him loose balls. Wanted him to hit boundaries if he could. We had a good momentum. After the first two games, we have bounced back well. Batting, bowling and fielding. We are just focused on taking it game by game."

KL Rahul speaks: "I wouldn't say I haven't enjoyed wearing it (the Orange Cap) but I would have been happier if we had qualified. It was a score that was par. Maybe 10-15 runs extra. When a guy like Maxwell comes in with that sort of form, it makes it difficult. But with the bat, the last couple of years have been disappointing. If I have to be honest, our batting has let us down. I'll be lying if I say it doesn't play on my mind that I play a role that the team demands. It's not something that I enjoy, but when you lead the team, you have to accept the responsibility. In T20, the top two or three do score a bulk of the runs. You won't have people in the middle order scoring 500-600 runs. But we have missed someone in the middle who scores those 30-40 quick runs. Shahrukh and some of the other Indian young guys have been going well."

5.46 pm Animated celebration from Virat Kohli, as RCB sneak through in this entertaining slugfest. And that means they make it to the playoffs for the second successive season. It looked like the target of 165 might be below-par when KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal had gotten off to a rapid start, but RCB did well with the ball at the back-end. Outstanding from the likes of Yuzi Chahal and Harshal Patel, but it was George Garton who also contributed well, learning very quickly how to adjust his length on this surface. Punjab might reflect on a couple of curious batting order decisions, not least of all the out-of-form Nicholas Pooran. Their qualification hopes stay alive, but only just.

What Punjab wouldn't give for a no-ball here?

Rachel: "Punjab are experts in collapsing. They were 81/0 after 10 overs!" --- Not an easy pitch when you lose wickets. If anything, proves how superb Maxwell was today

Here's what S Rajesh says about a potential defeat her for Punjab Kings: A defeat will leave them clutching at the slimmest of lifelines with some very specific result requirements: apart from winning their own last match, they will need Knight Riders to lose their two remaining matches and stay at 10, and for Mumbai Indians to beat Royals, who in turn should beat Knight Riders. Then three teams - Kings, Mumbai and Royals - will finish on 12 points, with Kings likely to have the best NRR among them and take the fourth spot.

If the game wasn't already in RCB's grasp, it seems to be the case now, as Harpreet comes out at 8. Not impossible, but a very difficult task for a new batter on this wicket

Instrumental version of 'Haadu Santoshakke' plays out, which is a good sign for RCB

Virtual free hit here for Henriques. Gets it for a boundary and there'll be some pressure on RCB

Gokul Pradeep V: "Unfortunately, there is no 'Sir' Jadeja in Punjab team who can shellack 37 runs off Harshal Patel !! "

How many runs can Siraj leave Harshal to play with for the final over?

Change in ball taking place. Kohli wasn't happy about something. Perhaps the shape of the ball.

Two overs of Harshal Patel still in the bag. Kohli will be quite happy to have as many runs to play with as he does

"Most International teams would be having a sigh of relief to see no Chahal in Team India" --- I agree, Sabir Khan