Picture Credit: BCCI/IPL
Faf du Plessis's 96-run knock and Josh Hazlewood's four-wicket haul guided Royal Challengers Bangalore to beat Lucknow Super Giants by 18 runs at the Dr DY Patil Stadium. Chasing a 182-run target, Lucknow Super Giants did not get the best of start as they lost their opener, Quinton de Kock (3 off 5) in the third over, dismissed by Josh Hazlewood. Hazlewood struck again as he dismissed Manish Pandey for 6 to leave LSG reeling at 33/2.
Krunal and KL Rahul batted well to take their team beyond the 50-run mark in the seventh over. Lucknow's biggest jolt came from Rahul's dismissal as Harshal Patel dismissed him for 30 off 24 balls. Hooda joined Krunal Pandya in the middle, and together they helped their side cross the 100-run mark in 12.2 overs. Marcus Stoinis (24 off 15) and Jason Holder (16 off 8) played brief innings at the end, but that was not enough to guide Lucknow pass the winning mark.
Earlier in the day, after RCB was put in to bat, they had the worst possible start as pacer Dushmantha Chameera dismissed opener, Anuj Rawat for four, followed by the prized scalp of Kohli, who got dismissed for a golden duck, leaving his side tottering at 7/2 in first over. The brief knocks from Glenn Maxwell (23 off 11) and Shahbaz Ahmed (26 off 22) provided much-needed assistance to Faf, who was trying to post a competitive total on board.
Du Plessis' batted brilliantly and was heading towards his maiden hundred of the season but missed out on by just four runs as he got dismissed at 96 by Holder in the 20th over. He guided RCB to 181 for 6 in 20 overs. Dinesh Karthik remained unbeaten on 13.
Let's take a look at some of the highlights from the game.
1. Dushmantha Chameera's early blow to RCB:
After being invited to bat first, Bangalore's top-order was hoping to provide a solid start to their side against a quality side, but Chameera surprised Anuj Rawat soon enough to pack his bags back to the pavilion. A spectacular catch caught Rawat by KL Rahul in the fifth ball of the first over. What followed was more shocking, former Indian skipper getting out at golden duck on the next delivery leaving RCB tottered at 7-2 in 0.6 overs.
2. A 70-run partnership between Shahbaz and du Plessis
After Bangalore suffered early blows in their first innings of batting, skipper Faf got much-needed support from Shahbaz, who, along with his skipper, put a price on his wicket and built a crucial partnership. Shahbaz joined Faf when RCB was reeling at 62-4 but held the fort with Faf and built steady and solid innings. The 70-run stand between Shahbaz and du Plessis was finally broken as Shahbaz was run-out for 26.
3. Krunal Pandya's 42
Lucknow had an unlikely start to their second innings as Hazlewood dismissed Quinton de Kock (3 off 5) and Manish Pandey (6 off 8) in 2.3 and 4.6 overs, respectively. Krunal Pandya came to a much-needed rescue and built a crucial stand first with KL Rahul (30 off 24) and then with Deepak Hooda (13 off 14). Pandya's 42 came in just 28 balls and was studded with two maximums and five boundaries.
4. Josh Hazlewood's four-wicket haul
The Aussie pacer was at his best in the game against Lucknow Super Giants. Hazlewood provided early blows to Lucknow in the form of Quinton de Kock and Manish Pandey. Later, he hunted down wonder boy Ayush Badoni and dangerous-looking Marcus Stoinis in 16.4 and 18.2 overs respectively. Hazelwood finished the game with four wickets and bowled at an economy of 6.20.