The Royal Challengers Bangalore loyalists were taken aback after Virat Kohli stepped in to lead his side after 555 days when the side squared up against resurgent Punajb Kings in what made up for an exciting first match of the day. The former skipper, who had quit captaincy after the 2021 season, stepped in for Faf du Plessis who had picked up an injury in the last game.

“Faf potentially can’t be fielding today, so he’ll be playing as an impact player, switching with Vyshak,” Kohli said at the toss. "We got to do what we wanted, we would have batted first, the pitch could get slow, some scruff marks will help the bowlers going deep into the game. Taking one game at a time, focussing on our own game, make the most of crunch situations, we haven’t done that so far in the tournament.”