The last time rain interrupted a clash between Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Virat Kohli batted with five stitches in his hand and brought the house down with a century for the ages. That was 2016, a night of commitment, brilliance, and a storm that couldn’t stop a legend.

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Nine years later, the rain returned. So did the rivalry. But this time, Punjab Kings wrote their tale under the clouds.

PBKS turn the tables 

On a rain-hit Friday (April 18) night in Bengaluru, Punjab Kings flipped the script with a clinical win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru in a match reduced to 14 overs a side. RCB fans hoped for a touch of Kohli magic, but Punjab delivered the knockout punch. 

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RCB had a bad start, crashing to 43/7 in the ninth over. Arshdeep Singh struck early, removing Virat Kohli for just 1, followed with wickets kept falling at regular intervals. It was a combined team bowling effort with Arshdeep, Macro Jansen, Chahal and Harpreet Brar claiming two wickets each

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Amid the collapse, Tim David stood tall with a fighting fifty, pushing RCB to 95, a total that looked far below from the par score. Punjab’s chase began shakily. Both openers fell inside the powerplay, and Josh Hazlewood’s double-strike suddenly brought RCB back into the contest. The pressure was building, but Nehal Wadhera stood tall for Punjab.

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The left-hander counter-attacked with a blistering 33* off 19 balls. Two towering sixes off Suyash Sharma turned the momentum Punjab's way, before Marcus Stoinis sealed the deal with a boundary in the 12th over.

By this win, Punjab are now in the second position of the points table. Whereas RCB, losing the third match of this season, all at home, have managed to be in the top 4.

Thus, in 2016, when Chinnaswamy echoed Kohli's heroics, it now stood silent with Punjab's storm.