Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Monday pulled off a stunning 18-run win against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in a low-scoring affair, seeking perfect revenge for their previous loss in Bengaluru. With this win, RCB jumped up to the fifth spot with 10 points while LSG slipped a place down, to third.
Faf du Plessis & Co knew that they have a lesser total to defend and hence acted accordingly. Mohammed Siraj opened the attack and found the opening breakthrough off the third ball. Kyle Mayers looked to clear the infield but was beaten by the lack of bounce and handed an easy catch to Anuj Rawat.
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Since KL Rahul was out with an injury, Krunal Pandya came in at no. 3 and looked to steady the chase after losing Mayers early. The left-hander smashed a hat-trick of boundaries to Siraj in the third over to gain some confidence but soon he was taken down by Glenn Maxwell. Right in the next over, Krunal looked for an inside out loft but ended up chipping off the bottom half of the bat and Kohli completed a fine catch near long off.
LSG were already in trouble after losing a couple of men inside powerplay and then came Josh Hazlewood to add to their woes. Playing his first game this season, the Aussie quick took down Ayush Badoni who played a slap drive on a fuller delivery. Kohli burst into the picture again, leaping at covers to take another catch.
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Deepak Hooda was the next LSG batter to walk back after making a minimal contribution. He fell prey to Wanindu Hasaranga’s legbreak. Hooda prodded a little too much and couldn’t get his back foot inside the crease before Karthik whipped off the bails.
Lucknow were reduced to 34 for 6 at the end of the powerplay when Nicholas Pooran Joined Marcus Stoinis in the middle. Given their current forms, it seemed to be an easy way ahead from there on but Karn Sharma had other plans. He got the better of Pooran with a leg break, opening the floodgates for LSG.
Krishnappa Gowthan was the next man in who joined Stoinis in the middle. The Karnataka all-rounder looked to mount some pressure on RCB, smashing Karn Sharma for a six followed by a boundary, and then hammering Hasaranga for a maximum over the sight screen. The duo of Gowtham and Stoinis could add 27 runs for the 6th wicket but then Karn struck again to remove the latter.
With 62 more required and Gowtham going great, Lucknow still had hopes. In fact, captain KL Rahul was also ready on the sidelines, getting ready to bat. But back-to-back run-outs tarnished LSG’s chase a bit more. Harshal Patel’s throws caught Gowtham and Bishnoi short, putting RCB on top of the game.
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Tail-enders Amit Mishra and Naveen-ul-Haq look to steer the chase with 50 needed off the last five overs. They batted patiently, didn’t take any risk, and punished the loose balls for boundary. They even took the game deeper and added 26 runs for the 9th wicket. But Hazlewood struck in the penultimate over and removed Naveen for run-a-ball 13.
Rahul, who could barely walk, limped into the field. He smashed a couple of balls but couldn’t run which put Mishra on the strike in the final over. The veteran spinner found a boundary before losing his wicket to Harshal.
Earlier, a disciplined bowling attack restricted RCB to a paltry 126 for 9. Opting to bat, RCB never had momentum in their innings despite the opening duo of skipper Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli sharing a 62-run partnership. However, the LSG bowlers pulled back the game brilliantly.
Meanwhile, LSG suffered a big blow in the last delivery of the second over when skipper KL Rahul pulled his right thigh muscle while chasing a ball toward the extra cover boundary. Rahul failed to stop the boundary, looked in considerable pain, and limped off the field. In his absence, Krunal Pandya led the side.
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