India, May 29 -- Punjab Kings' in-form top-order crashed spectacularly in the Qualifier 1 as Royal Challengers Bengaluru, riding on Rajat Patidar's call to bowl first, stormed through the opening exchanges in Mullanpur. Josh Hazlewood, who made a return to the playing XI for the high-stakes clash, produced a hostile spell, picking two wickets in the Powerplay. It was the Australian who struck the most telling blow, removing Punjab's in-form captain Shreyas Iyer for just 2.

With that wicket, Iyer's worrying trend against Hazlewood worsened, now dismissed four times in six T20 innings by the pacer. A short-of-length ball climbed on Iyer as he attempted a cross-batted hoick, only to edge behind. For all the gloss on Iyer's season, this was ...