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Arshdeep Singh's fielding has been very sloppy this year, and once again, a massive blunder from the Indian star resulted in a slipping away of momentum for the Punjab Kings in a do-or-die contest against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru have been dominating this edition of the TATA IPL 2026. They are currently at the top of the points table and already have 16 points after having played just 12 matches in this season. They have a fair chance to make it to the playoffs by securing a spot as one of the top two teams.
Punjab Kings, on the other hand, are eyeing a position in the top four spots as they have been in the hunt for a knockout spot. The Punjab Kings will aim to win the remaining matches that could possibly take them over the Gujarat Titans in the points table.
Arshdeep Singh's massive misfielding hands Venkatesh Iyer a promising start
Having played ten balls already in the innings, Venkatesh Iyer did not look in the best of form, as he was not able to get it on the right spot on the bat. However, Venky finally got his first boundary when Arshdeep misfielded off Lockie Ferguson's bowling.
Arshdeep bent down and was late to judge the ball; hence, the ball slipped from his right side and went racing to the fence after Iyer attacked Ferguson with a cover drive.
The momentum shifted with the bat, and he then smashed Harpreet Brar repeatedly to the boundary fence. Venky unleashed the attack against Yuzvendra Chahal as well, hitting him for two massive sixes. Hence, Arshdeep's miss resulted in a loss of momentum for the RCB batter.
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Venkatesh Iyer scores maiden half-century for RCB
Venkatesh Iyer has replaced the skipper Rajat Patidar in a key batting position. The left-hander has had a massive role to play in handing them a promising buildup during the middle overs after a good start to their innings.
The skipper was dropped due to a possible injury scare, and hence, Jitesh Sharma started to lead them as a stand-in skipper. Iyer stepped up under such circumstances and scored a terrific half-century, while striking the ball fearlessly after a slow start.
Iyer accelerated through his innings in no time and continued the onslaught after Virat Kohli was dismissed off Yuzvendra Chahal's bowling. This marked only his fourth match for RCB this season and his maiden half-century for the Red Devils.
PBKS is overreliant on Arshdeep Singh: Major factor behind PBKS' bowling woes
The Punjab Kings are clearly overreliant on Arshdeep Singh, the left-arm Indian pacer whose performance with the ball was one of PBKS' biggest positives until last season. However, this season the seamer's lack of form has been a massive concern.
Arshdeep has been irregular on the wickets tally and has also lacked physical fitness, as a result of which he has not been accurate in nailing his yorkers, nor has he been able to land the bouncers in the right area. This has led to a massive concern for PBKS.
