Punjab Kings & Bangalore's Twitter banter leaves fans in splits as RCB have the last laugh

Royal Challengers Bangalore and Punjab Kings were involved in hilarious social media banter on Friday i.e. on the very first day of IPL 2021. Even though it was Punjab who started the banter but, it was the Bengaluru-based franchise that came out on top.

RCB has the last laugh in social media banter

It so happened that the 2014 runners-up had taken to the micro-blogging site and thanked Bangalore for having given them the likes of Caribbean power-hitter Chris Gayle, their current skipper KL Rahul, Punjab batsman Mandeep Singh, young sensation Sarfaraz Khan, and, Team India's Test specialist Mayank Agarwal. All these players had previously represented the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

When it came to RCB's notice, the three-time finalists came forward and took a hilarious dig at the Punjab team by saying that they have missed the jersey, helmet, pads, and logo. This must have been said in reference to Punjab's current team kit which has somewhat resemblance to RCB's kit during their early days (2008-2010 seasons). 

Even the netizens had a gala time as well and they enjoyed this IPL team banter to the fullest. Here are some of the reactions. 

RCB win a last-ball thriller

Coming back to the on-field action, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) restricted the five-time winners to a manageable total of 159/9 from their 20 overs after winning the toss and electing to field first with Harshal Patel registering a fifer as he picked up three wickets in the final over by conceding just a single run. In reply, Virat Kohli (33) and RCB's new recruit Glenn Maxwell (39) added 42 runs for the third-wicket stand after they had lost pinch-hitter Washington Sundar and young domestic talent Rajat Patidar. However, it was 'Mr.360' AB de Villiers who stole the show with an impactful knock of a 27-ball 48 at a strike rate of 177.78 including four boundaries and a couple of maximums. He took MI's frontline bowlers to the cleaners and brought his team closer to a famous win after the three-time runners-up had suffered a dramatic middle-order collapse. Even though ABD was dismissed on the third-last ball of the contest, he had done his job as tail-enders Mohammed Siraj, and, Harshal Patel took RCB past the finish line to clinch a final ball thriller and add the first two points in their tally. 

A new-look Punjab franchise on the other hand will be eager to make a mark straight away when they lock horns with northern rivals Rajasthan on April 12 at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

(Image Courtesy: Twitter@PunjabKingsIPL/@IPL)