Punjab hands Bengaluru another home defeat in Indian Premier League

BENGALURU, India (AP) — Punjab Kings kept Royal Challengers Bengaluru winless at home in a rain-shortened Indian Premier League game on Friday.

Light drizzle reduced the Twenty20 game to 14 overs a side and Bengaluru was in danger of being bowled out for its lowest IPL total of 49 before Tim David's 26-ball unbeaten 50 lifted the home team to 95-9.

Punjab stuttered briefly until Nehal Wadhera smacked three sixes and three boundaries and carried Punjab to 98-5 in 12.1 overs for a five-wicket win.

With a fifth win in seven games, Punjab was second in the table on run rate.

Bengaluru was fourth thanks to four away wins. But it has still to win at home.

Punjab fast bowlers Arshdeep Singh, Marco Jansen and Xavier Bartlett shared five wickets between them. Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal bagged 2-11 following 4-28 against Kolkata Knight Riders.

Arshdeep made the first inroads with his short balls when Phil Salt (4) and Virat Kohli (1) fell to pulls.

Wicketkeeper Josh Inglis sprinted to square leg and made a scintillating diving catch to get Salt, and Jansen grabbed a sharp catch of Kohli at mid-on.

Captain Rajat Patidar, one of the only two Bengaluru batters to reach double figures, passed 1,000 runs in the IPL but holed out to long-on as he tried to loft Chahal.

South African left-armer Jansen sliced through the middle order with 2-10 as Bengaluru slipped to 42-7 in the eighth over.

David smashed spinner Harpreet Brar (2-25) for three successive sixes in the last over and completed his half-century with two runs off the final ball after the leg-spinner overstepped and conceded a no-ball.

Brar was on a hat trick when he dismissed Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Yash Dayal but Hazlewood prevented the hat trick and David counterattaked in the final over.

Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar removed the Punjab openers inside the four-over powerplay as the fast bowlers prospered in damp conditions.

Captain Shreyas Iyer and Inglis added a quiet 20 runs before Hazlewood returned and gave Bengaluru a glimmer of hope with two brilliant short balls.

Hazlewood got the thick outside edge of Iyer’s drive, and two balls later Inglis sliced a catch to third man as Punjab slipped to 53-4 in eight overs.

But Wadhera successfully took on leg-spinner Suyash Sharma to lead the charge, and Marcus Stoinis finished off the game with a six off Dayal.

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

Royal Challengers Bengaluru's Virat Kohli walks off the field after losing his wicket during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Punjab Kings at Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, India, Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Punjab Kings' Marco Jansen bowls a delivery during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Punjab Kings at Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, India, Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Punjab Kings' Yuzvendra Chahal, center, celebrates the dismissal of Royal Challengers Bengaluru's Jitesh Sharma, foreground, during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Punjab Kings at Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, India, Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Punjab Kings' Marco Jansen, left, celebrates with teammates after the dismissal of Royal Challengers Bengaluru's Krunal Pandya during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Punjab Kings at Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, India, Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Punjab Kings' Marco Jansen takes the catch of Royal Challengers Bengaluru's Virat Kohli during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Punjab Kings at Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, India, Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Punjab Kings' Harpreet Brar, center, celebrates with teammates the dismissal of Royal Challengers Bengaluru's Yash Dayal during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Punjab Kings at Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, India, Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Royal Challengers Bengaluru's Tim David during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Punjab Kings at Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, India, Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Punjab Kings' Nehal Wadhera celebrates with batting partner Marcus Stoinis after their win against Royal Challengers Bengaluru during the Indian Premier League cricket match at Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, India, Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Punjab Kings' Nehal Wadhera plays a shot during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Punjab Kings at Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, India, Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Punjab Kings' Nehal Wadhera hits a six during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Punjab Kings at Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, India, Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

MADRID (AP) — The new Madring circuit debuting this season in Formula One has been deemed ready for its inaugural race after successfully hosting tests with the lower-tiered F3 cars this week.

Organizers said Madring “is ready for the Spanish Grand Prix” on Sept. 13 following two days of running that included several red flags for drivers going off track at the new hybrid circuit.

One driver said it is “the most adrenaline-fuelled circuit of the entire season,” while another compared sections of the new track to the circuits on the streets of Monaco and Macau.

A total of 30 drivers and 10 teams raced Monday and Tuesday at the brand-new 5.4-kilometer (3.3-mile) track set around exhibition halls near Madrid’s main airport. The track features a mix of existing roads in the Spanish capital and purpose-built sections.

Organizers said they were able to test “both the track’s performance and the various sporting, technical, medical, safety and coordination operations.” They said “the track and the sporting, technical and safety operations have functioned under real conditions.”

There were nearly 20 stoppages in the sessions because cars went off track and for other reasons.

According to organizers, drivers said they liked what they experienced in the new circuit.

“I feel very comfortable in Macau and Monaco, so I really like this circuit because some sections remind me of them,” said Théophile Naël, who drives for team Van Amersfoort Racing. “When you are flat out, you can feel the g-forces. Inside the car, it is incredible.”

The banked corner “La Monumental” is expected to be the highlight of the new track.

Spanish driver Bruno del Pino, of team MP Motorsport, described the track as “the most adrenaline-fuelled of the entire season.”

“The adrenaline is at 100% on every lap,” he said, adding that the circuit “fills you with energy and gets your heart racing. We are really looking forward to racing here officially.”

Madring signed a contract with F1 through 2035. This year's Spanish GP will mark F1's return to the Madrid region after it raced at the Jarama circuit in 1981. The Jerez de la Frontera track in southern Spain hosted races from 1986-90, and in 1994 and 1997.

See AP’s full auto racing coverage here

Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Italy, left, and McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain lead at the second start during the Formula One Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort , Netherlands, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)