Punjab Kings had made their intentions clear at the IPL auction table, adding batting depth and muscle needed to chase down big targets.
On Sunday, Punjab Kings found the perfect opportunity to test their new recruits while chasing 206 against Royal Challengers Bangalore at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.
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They ticked most of the boxes with the top-order batters getting to fluent starts, and the middle order quickly recovering from a mini collapse, to pull off a sensational five-wicket win with an over to spare.
Punjab got off to a solid 71-run start from the new opening pair of Mayank Agarwal (32) and Shikhar Dhawan (43) before Sri Lankan Bhanuka Rajapaksa stroked a fiery 22-ball 43.
While Mohammed Siraj's twin blows halted Punjab's march for a while, Shahrukh Khan (24 not out off 20 balls) and Odean Smith (25 not out off 8 balls) ensured the side did not face any more hiccups.
Earlier, Faf du Plessis overcame a sedate start to slam his eighth half century against the Kings, and power his side to a formidable 205 for 2. In the run-up to the tournament, Virat Kohli had rated his successor as an able captain, and the 37-yearold justified his elevation as the captain of the franchise.
The former South Africa captain's knock had all the ingredients of a master craftsman's ability to change gears at will, as he renewed his rivalry with Punjab with a destructive 88 off 57 balls, dealing mostly in sixes. Kohli was content playing second fiddle to the Proteas batter, who raced to his fifty with consecutive maximums off Odean Smith.
1/8:RCB go down to Punjab
<p>Faf du Plessis smashed 88 on his Indian Premier League debut as captain but his side Royal Challengers Bangalore went down to Punjab Kings in a high-scoring match. (BCCI/IPL Photo)</p>
2/8:Fiery stand
<p>Du Plessis put on fiery stand of 118 off 61 balls with predecessor Virat Kohli, who hit an unbeaten 41. (BCCI/IPL Photo)</p>
3/8:Fine fifty
<p>Du Plessis made the most of a dropped catch by Shahrukh on seven to raise his fifty with two sixes off Smith. (BCCI/IPL Photo)</p>
4/8:57-ball blitz
<p>Du Plessis hit three fours and seven sixes in his 57-ball blitz before falling to Arshdeep Singh. (BCCI/IPL Photo)</p>
5/8:Dinesh Karthik
<p>Dinesh Karthik kept up the RCB attack in his unbeaten 14-ball 32 as Bangalore reached 205/2. (BCCI/IPL Photo)</p>
6/8:Five-wicket win
<p>Punjab, led by new skipper Mayank Agarwal, reached their target in 19 overs and won by five wickets. (BCCI/IPL Photo)</p>
7/8:Winning start
<p>Agarwal (32), Shikhar Dhawan (43) and Bhanuka Rajapaksa (43) contributed in the team's winning start. (BCCI/IPL Photo)</p>
8/8:Unbeaten finishers
<p>Shahrukh Khan, on 24, and Odean Smith, on 25 off eight balls, returned unbeaten. (BCCI/IPL Photo)</p>Shahrukh gave a life to Faf when he was on seven, but eventually made up for the dropped chance with a fine running catch to dismiss the right-hander off left-armer Arshdeep Singh.
But by then, the damage was done as Faf smoked seven sixes and three boundaries to add 118 runs for the second wicket with Kohli who ended up with an unbeaten 29-ball 41, laced with a four and a couple of sixes.
Towards the end, another new RCB recruit, Dinesh Karthik provided the flourish with a brisk 32 off 14 deliveries to help the team go past the 200-run mark.
Earlier, after being asked to bat, young Anuj Rawat gave glimpses of why he is rated so highly in Delhi cricket. Making his debut for RCB, the southpaw got a breezy 20-ball 21, and more importantly, set the tone with a 50-run opening stand with his skipper. He was undone while attempting a big heave off a tossed-up delivery from leg-spinner Rahul Chahar that knocked off the sticks.
