Bowlers do the job as RCB defend 126 to go fifth
Royal Challengers Bangalore 126 for 9 (du Plessis 44, Kohli 31, Naveen 3-30) beat Lucknow Super Giants 108 (Gowtham 23, Hazlewood 2-15, Karn 2-20) by 18 runs
In the previous meeting between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Lucknow Super Giants, 425 runs have been scored in 40 overs on the batting paradise on the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. On Monday evening, LSG served a black-soil pitch on their residence floor the place the ball gripped and held into the floor. The end result: 234 runs in 39.5 overs with RCB popping out on prime by 18 runs.
After Faf du Plessis opted to bat, he and Virat Kohli set the platform by including 62 in 9 overs. But the innings by no means actually got here out of the primary gear. Krunal Pandya, Ravi Bishnoi, Amit Mishra and Ok Gowtham mixed to bowl 13 overs of spin and picked up 5 for 73 between them. Naveen-ul-Haq, too, reaped the rewards of bowling his cutters into the pitch and picked up three wickets on the loss of life to limit RCB to a modest 126 for 9.
In response, LSG had a nightmarish begin. They have been 38 for five after seven overs, and when Marcus Stoinis and Gowtham too fell in back-to-back overs, they have been quickly 77 for 8. LSG’s solely hope at that time was KL Rahul. He had hobbled off the sector after hurting his right leg within the second over of the sport. But by the point he got here out at No. 11, LSG wanted 24 off eight balls.
It was clear Rahul was not going to run between the wickets. He performed three dots, certainly one of which was a free hit, after which noticed Mishra attempting and failing to attain the required 23 within the last over. A post-match altercation between Kohli and LSG’s mentor Gautam Gambhir, although, took the shine off RCB’s win.
RCB’s sluggish begin
After RCB scored solely 20 runs within the first three overs, du Plessis and Kohli tried to interrupt the shackles. In the fourth over, du Plessis hit Naveen for a straight six and Kohli adopted it with a 4. However, Krunal and Bishnoi conceded solely ten within the subsequent two, and RCB completed the powerplay on 42 for no loss.
Bishnoi will get Kohli and Maxwell
Du Plessis and Kohli had placed on 62 when Kohli determined to skip down the observe towards Bishnoi however reached nowhere close to the ball. it additionally turned it to be a googly and beat him on the within edge for Nicholas Pooran to impact a straightforward stumping.
No. 3 Anuj Rawat managed solely 9 earlier than being dismissed by Gowtham. That introduced Glenn Maxwell, arguably RCB’s finest batter towards spin, within the center. On his fifth ball, he tried to reverse-sweep a Bishnoi legbreak solely to get hit on the thigh and be given out lbw.
In the fifteenth over, Mishra had Suyash Prabhudessai caught at long-off, courtesy a wonderful diving catch by Gowtham, to depart RCB 90 for 4.
Rain however no runs
After a quick spell of rain that halted play for round 25 minutes, Dinesh Karthik resumed by hitting Naveen over midwicket for 4. In the subsequent over, the seventeenth, he pulled a half-tracker from Mishra for a six and du Plessis additionally tried to take Mishra on however ended up miscuing his try. Krunal ran to his proper from level and accomplished the tumbling catch close to further cowl.
RCB have been counting on Karthik for some late blows however Yash Thakur dashed their hopes. In the nineteenth over, Wanindu Hasaranga hit one again in the direction of Thakur who fielded the ball and nailed the direct hit on the non-striker’s finish to seek out Karthik effectively quick after he had taken off a great distance.
RCB bounce again
Mohammed Siraj has been deadly with the brand new ball this season, and he as soon as once more struck early, having Kyle Mayers caught at mid-on with the second ball of the chase. After two overs, LSG have been 2 for 1.
Krunal hit Siraj for 3 successive fours within the third to maneuver the needle, however LSG misplaced 4 wickets within the subsequent 4 overs. Krunal was the primary to go, chipping Maxwell to long-off. From the opposite finish, Josh Hazlewood eliminated Ayush Badoni, who had are available in as Impact Player for Thakur and opened the innings.
Wanindu Hasaranga dealt a blow along with his first ball, drawing Deepak Hooda out of the crease with a googly and having him stumped. Pooran began with a first-ball six however when he tried to go for an additional huge hit towards Karn Sharma, he holed out to deep sq. leg.
LSG slip additional
LSG nonetheless seemed to assault their strategy to the goal. Gowtham hit Karn for a six and 4, and adopted it with one other six off Hasaranga. That decreased the equation to 64 wanted from the final ten overs. But when Stoinis tried to go huge towards Karn, he sliced it to long-off. In the subsequent over, Gowtham too perished, his informal operating whereas returning for a second run resulting in him being run-out.
Rahul leaves it too late
LSG wanted 49 within the final 5 overs with two wickets in hand. Mishra and Naveen have been within the center; Rahul was nonetheless padded up within the dugout. The required price saved ballooning, and when Rahul lastly walked in, it was too late as a result of he could not run and Mishra could not get the boundaries.
Hemant Brar is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo