RCB clinch pole position on points table after staggering win against LSG
The Royal Challengers Bengaluru dominated the Lucknow Super Giants in a lopsided game as the bowlers came alive at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. More importantly for RCB, their key bowler from last year, Josh Hazlewood, whose fitness was uncertain, returned to his very best, leaving the Super Giants stranded in an island of despair.
Winning the toss, RCB opted to bowl first. They made one change, bringing in Hazlewood for Jacob Duffy. Lucknow got off to a decent start, courtesy of Mitchell Marsh (40) and Aiden Markram (12). Despite the steady scoring rate, the attacking zing seemed missing from the Giants.
This is exactly what opened up a window of opportunity for the Royal Challengers and they did well to cash in. Rasikh Salam Dar drew first blood by dismissing Markram, which was the first wicket in the career-best spell he delivered that night.
To LSG's dismay, Rishabh Pant had to retire hurt after Hazlewood surprised him, and the ball hit his elbow. Even before LSG could understand what had hit them, Hazlewood dismissed Nicholas Pooran (1), sending the southpaw crashing back to the pavilion.
LSG could manage to steady the innings after Ayush Badoni (38) came to the aid of Marsh but once again the slow scoring rate led to some serious troubles for the visitors. Just when it felt like that Marsh could switch the gears for LSG, Krunal Pandya cannoned through his defences and sent him packing to the pavilion.
Abdul Samad went back to the dugout without troubling the scorers as Pandya added another scalp to his tally to rack up the magical milestone of 100 wickets in IPL. Badoni and the incoming Mukul Choudhary managed to find some rhythm for the Super Giants, adding a significant partnership of 35 runs.
Lucknow’s resistance finally buckled when Rasikh Salam Dar returned to the attack and removed Badoni. RCB’s trend of hunting in packs continued as Rishabh Pant (1) who returned to bat, followed in the trail of Badoni in no time, being dismissed by Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Phil Salt pouched a sensational grab to get hold of the Lucknow captain.
From there, it was only a nosedive into dejection for the visitors as they were bundled out for 146. Rasikh was the pick of the lot with figures of 4/24 while Bhuvneshwar Kumar concluded with numbers of 3/27. Josh Hazlewood was the most economical with numbers of 1/20.
With the kind of reputation that Chinnaswamy has, it went without saying that Lucknow needed a lot more than being clinical if they had to conjure any chance whatsoever in stalling the RCB unit. Much to RCB’s shock, however, Phil Salt (7) couldn’t really get the wheels in motion. Prince Yadav’s length ball saw his stumps shattered.
However, the fall of Salt did very little to deter the Royal Challengers from continuing the charge. Devdutt Padikkal walked into the mix and joined Virat Kohli who was in the mood for slaughter. Kohli spearheaded the charge in the 57-run partnership for the second wicket. DDP (10) was removed by Avesh Khan but Kohli was already cruising at the other end by then.
Kohli’s juggernaut eventually came to a halt for a well-orchestrated 49 off just 34 balls, pushing RCB into a spot of bother even though that phase was transient. Rajat Patidar fired a 13-ball-27 while Jitesh Sharma’s 9-ball-23 saw the duo add 35 runs from just 13 balls, almost killing the game.
LSG managed to remove both Rajat and Jitesh in the same over, offering a bleak sign of hope. However, Romario Shepherd (14*) and Tim David (14*) snatched it away, getting the job done for the Royal Challengers with 29 balls to spare. RCB’s massive win against LSG took them to the top of the points table with eight points from five games and a NRR of +1.503. Josh Hazlewood won the Player of the Match for his defining spell in the first innings.
