RCB carried on their splendid form in this year’s Indian Premier League, as they posted yet another win, this time over the in-form Lucknow Super Giants, who were coming into the game with a morale-boosting victory over record-champions Mumbai Indians.
Bangalore skipper Faf du Plessis led from the front with the bat, scoring a sublime 96 at a time when his side were in deep trouble. Aussie speedster Josh Hazlewood was outstanding with the ball, both in the powerplay and at the death, picking up four crucial wickets to give Bangalore a comprehensive 18-run victory.
Lucknow skipper KL Rahul won the toss and decided to put the opposition into bat, on a grassy surface at the Dr. DY Patil Sports Academy. Anuj Rawat’s stop-start season suffered another failure at the top, walking back after scoring just four runs to Dushmantha Chameera.
Chameera, however, picked up the big fish, Virat Kohli off the very next ball for a golden duck. As such, the former India skipper suffered yet another setback in what have been extremely challenging times for the champion batsman. Glenn Maxwell, who scored a half-century in the previous game, made another useful contribution, scoring 23 in 11 deliveries, but could not carry on, falling prey to the left-arm spin of Krunal Pandya.
Du Plessis was holding fort for his side at one end as the dependable Shahbaz Ahmed walked into bat. Shahbaz once again proved his utility to the side, with a crucial contribution of 26 runs. However, it wasn’t just the runs that mattered, but the fact that he was able to build an invaluable partnership with du Plessis, who initially took time to settle before going for the all-out attack.
The South African pierced the gaps in the field with surgical precision towards the end and drove up the RCB score north of 170. He was also supported by the outstanding Dinesh Karthik, who remained unbeaten in the end, as Faf fell agonisingly short of a first IPL century after being dismissed for 96.
With a target of 182 to chase, Lucknow’s openers had an important role to fulfill, which could not happen as a result of a beauty from Hazlewood to get rid of the dangerous Quinton de Kock. A similar fate befell Manish Pandey, who mistimed a pull straight into Harshal Patel’s hands.
KL Rahul was looking really good in the middle, joining hands with the experienced Krunal Pandya, before falling against the run of play to Patel as a result of an excellent review taken by the RCB leadership. There weren’t any batsmen in the Lucknow lineup who batted throughout the innings, which is perhaps what cost them in the end.
Pandya did show some promise, playing some fantastic shots en route to his 42, but couldn’t stick on as he holed out to Shahbaz off Maxwell’s bowling. Pandya’s wicket was huge in the context of the game, as it gave control of the match to the Royal Challengers.
Ayush Badoni and Marcus Stoinis presented Lucknow with an outside chance. The duo struck a couple of boundaries to keep their side in the game. Hazlewood, on the other hand, was just unplayable on the day. He bowled a perfect line and length in the death overs, playing mind games with the batsmen to get rid of both Badoni and Stoinis. Hazlewood’s fantastic death overs bowling made sure that the RCB wrapped up a clinical 18-run victory in the end.
Du Plessis was adjudged man of the match for his superlative innings of 96. RCB now sit second in the standings, only behind Gujarat Titans with five wins in seven games, with qualification now a serious possibility.
Brief scores
Royal Challengers Bangalore 181 for 6 (du Plessis 96, Holder 2-25, Chameera 2-31) beat Lucknow Super Giants 163 for 8 (Krunal 42, Hazlewood 4-25, Harshal 2-47) by 18 runs
