Mumbai, May 13: Punjab King rode on Jonny Bairstow (66 off 29 balls) and Liam Livingstone's (70 off 42 balls) pyrotechnics to defeat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 54 runs here on Friday and keep their play-off hopes alive.
Invited to bat, Bairstow smashed four boundaries and seven sixes in his knock to start the Punjab Kings innings on an explosive note.

His compatriot Livingstone then hammered five fours and four maximums at the back end to take Punjab Kings to 209 for 9.

The Kings bowlers then rallied to limit RCB to 155 for nine to stay alive in the competition.

Kagiso Rabada (3/21) snared three wickets, while Rahul Chahar (2/37) and Rishi Dhawan (2/36) accounted for two RCB batters each.

For RCB, death over specialist Harshal Patel (4/34) and spinner Wanindu Hasaranga (2/15) were the top bowlers.

Brief Score:

Punjab Kings 209 for 9 in 20 overs (Liam Livingstone 70, Jonny Bairstow 66; Harshal Patel 4/34 ,Wanindu Hasaranga 2/15)

Royal Challengers Bangalore 155 for 9 in 20 overs (Glenn Maxwell 35, Rajat Pitidar 26; Kagiso Rabada 3/21)

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Nagpur (PTI): Polling began Friday morning in five Lok Sabha seats of Maharashtra, where more than 95 lakh voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in the first phase.

Polling in the 43 other Lok Sabha seats in the state will be held in four more phases later this month and in May.

Altogether 97 candidates, including Union minister Nitin Gadkari, are in fray in Nagpur, Ramtek (SC), Bhandara-Gondia, Chandrapur and Naxal-hit Gadchiroli-Chimur (ST) constituency, all located in eastern-most parts of the state.

There are 95,54,667 voters in the five Lok Sabha constituencies in the Vidarbha region. Of these, 48,28,142 are male, 47,26,178 female and 347 transgender voters, an election official said.

In Nagpur, there is a direct fight between senior BJP leader Gadkari, who is seeking a third term, and Congress candidate Vikas Thakre. The high-profile constituency, which houses the RSS headquarters, has a total of 22,18,259 voters -- 11,10, 840 male, 11,07,197 female and 222 transgender persons.

In Chandrapur, BJP candidate and Maharashtra minister Sudhir Mungantiwar is facing Congress nominee Pratibha Dhanorkar, wife of late parliamentarian Suresh Dhanorkar, who was the lone MP from the grand old party to be elected to the Lok Sabha from Maharashtra in 2019. Chandrapur has 18,36,314 voters, including 9,45,026 males and 8,91,240 females.

In Bhandara-Gondia, the BJP has fielded sitting MP Sunil Mendhe, who is pitted against Congress candidate Dr Prashant Patole. Bhandara-Gondia has a total of 18,75,106 voters (9,36,041 males, 9,39,056 females and 12 transgenders).

Two-time Lok Sabha MP of BJP, Ashok Nete, is contesting against Congress nominee Dr Namdev Kirsan in Gadchiroli-Chimur (ST), where some areas are affected by Naxal insurgency. The constituency has 16,12,930 voters (8,11,836 males, 8,01,082 females and 12 transgenders).

In Ramtek, the fight is between Shyamkumar Barwe of the Congress and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena's candidate Raju Parwe. The constituency has a total of 20,45,717 voters (10,43,266 males, 10,02,396 females and 55 transgenders).

Five assembly segments, spread across two Lok Sabha seats, including Naxal-hit Gadchiroli-Chimur, are voting between 7 am and 3 pm, unlike other areas where voters can exercise their franchise until 6 pm.

In the assembly segments of Amgaon, Armori, Gadchiroli and Aheri of Gadchiroli-Chimur Lok Sabha constituency and Arjune Morgaon in Bhandara-Gondia seat, polling is being held between 7 am and 3 pm, the official said.