Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Lucknow Super Giants

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) faced a heart-breaking defeat against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in match No. 15 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Monday. Nicholas Pooran changed the game with the quickest fifty of the seasons. In the end LSG won by 1 wicket. KL Rahul won the toss and elected to bowl first against RCB. Faf du Plessis and co enjoyed their homecoming to Bengaluru, thrashing five-time champions Mumbai Indians by eight wickets in their last match here.

However, RCB couldn’t back up that impressive win, losing their second match to Kolkata Knight Riders by 81 runs after a special innings by Shardul Thakur. KL Rahul’s side, on the other hand, have notched up a couple of impressive wins at home in Lucknow but lost their only away game in Chennai so far. RCB have never lost to LSG in IPL and are full of confidence with history on their side.

What an exhilarating match it was! No total is safe at the Chinnaswamy, and RCB’s bowling curse has haunted them once again. The match had everything, from a vintage knock by Virat Kohli during the powerplay, a massive 115m six by Faf du Plessis, to Glenn Maxwell’s return to form. And that was just the first innings!
During the chase, LSG lost their top-performing player Mayers for a duck, as Siraj bowled a fantastic first over. Deepak Hooda and Krunal Pandya also fell cheaply, with debutant Wayne Parnell making the most of the situation. LSG was struggling towards the end of the powerplay, but Marcus Stoinis stepped up to the plate to get them back in the game. The big Australian took on Harshal Patel and Karn Sharma, hitting massive sixes down the ground as he scored his first fifty of the season. Despite Stoinis’ heroics, the match was still in the balance, and it swung RCB’s way when Stoinis got out, followed by KL Rahul’s dismissal.

Badoni has been dismissed hit wicket by Parnell! This turn of events came as a surprise. Parnell delivered a full ball on the leg, causing Badoni to shuffle and play a ramp shot towards fine leg. Had the ball gone for a six, the game would have been all but over. However, although the ball cleared the boundary ropes, Badoni inadvertently knocked his bat onto the stumps, resulting in a wicket. This marks the end of the innings, as Badoni was the last recognized batsman. He scored 30 runs off 24 balls, including 4 fours.

Badoni has been dismissed hit wicket by Parnell! This turn of events came as a surprise. Parnell delivered a full ball on the leg, causing Badoni to shuffle and play a ramp shot towards fine leg. Had the ball gone for a six, the game would have been all but over. However, although the ball cleared the boundary ropes, Badoni inadvertently knocked his bat onto the stumps, resulting in a wicket. This marks the end of the innings, as Badoni was the last recognized batsman. He scored 30 runs off 24 balls, including 4 fours.

 KL Rahul-led Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by one wicket in a high-scoring thriller in the IPL 2023 clash at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Monday. Chasing a staggering 213, LSG got off to a dreadful start, losing Kyle Mayers for 0 in the first over. Wayne Parnell then removed Deepak Hooda and Krunal Pandya in the fourth over to push Lucknow further behind in the contest. However, Marcus Stoinis along with skipper Rahul then stitched a perfect rescue work, adding 76-run for the third wicket, before Karn Sharma (Impact Substitute) removed the Aussie for 65(30). Rahul then returned to the pavilion in the next over but what happened next put the match entirely into LSG’s favour. Nicholas Pooran along with Impact Substitute Ayush Badoni added 84 runs for the sixth wicket in 35 balls, before Mohammed Siraj dismissed Pooran for 62 off 19 balls. Badoni was removed in the 19th over for 30(24) as RCB took the match to the final ball of the contest. With five required in the final over, Harshal Patel removed two batters and had a chance to push the match in the Super Overs with the final LSG pair batting in the middle. However, he failed to inflict a run-out at the non-striker’s end in the final ball, following which Dinesh Karthik fumbled behind the stumps as Ravi Bishnoi along with Avesh Khan got LSG home. Earlier, Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis gave RCB a solid platform as the pair added 96 for the opening wicket after being invited to bat. Amit Mishra broke the partnership by getting rid of Kohli for 61(44) in the 12th over. Maxwell then joined his skipper and added 115-run in just 50 balls for the second wicket. Maxwell was cleaned up by Mark Wood for 59(29) in the final over, while Du Plessis returned unbeaten on 79(46).