Glenn Maxwell scored a sparkling half century as Royal Challengers Bangalore defeated the Punjab Kings by 6 runs in Sharjah on Sunday.
After winning the toss and electing to bat first RCB opening pair of Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal got their team off to a solid start. The duo added 68 runs for the first wicket before Moises Henriques broke the partnership by dismissing Kohli bowled for 25.
Dan Christian who was promoted at No 3 fell cheaply as he sliced at a Henriques delivery to Sarfaraz Khan straight to point for a duck.
The Australian all-rounder claimed his third wicket by dismissing Padikkal caught behind flashing at a delivery outside off, leaving their side in a spot of bother at 73/3.
The pair of Maxwell and AB de Villiers brought the innings back on track with a valuable 73 run stand for the fourth wicket before the latter was run out by a direct hit from Khan for 23.
Maxwell continued his good form by smashing 57 off 33 balls, as RCB ended up with a competitive total of 164/7 in their allotted 20 overs.
For PBKS, Henriques and Mohammed Shami claimed 3 wickets each.
Chasing 165, Punjab openers KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal got their side off to a fantastic start. The pair put on 91 runs for the opening stand before the former was dismissed by Shahbaz Ahmed for 39.
Yuzvendra Chahal brought RCB back into the contest by dismissing the out of form Nicholas Pooran (3), Mayank Agarwal (57) and Sarfaraz Khan for a first ball duck.
George Garton then got into the act by dismissing Aiden Markram for 20.
In the end Shahrukh Khan and Moises Henriques scored brief cameos but failed to take their side past the finishing line as they ended up with 158/6 in 20 overs, giving RCB a 6 run win.
Leg spinner Chahal was Royal Challengers best bowler with figures of 3/29.
With this victory, Royal Challengers Bangalore became the third team to qualify for the playoffs.
Glenn Maxwell was declared the Player of the Match.