It has been some time since the Chinnaswamy stadium presented a humdinger of epic proportions, but the Chinnaswamy’s tryst with cliffhangers has not been altered by the passage of time or by a pandemic that has affected people’s lives. A nail-biting battle ensued between the Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Lucknow Super Giants, and in the end, it was the guests from Bangalore who emerged victorious off the last ball. LSG came out on top in a high-scoring match that went back and forth between the two teams, winning by one wicket off the penultimate ball.
Kohli uses the license to kill to his advantage.
The captain of the LSG team, KL Rahul, won the toss and decided to bowl after citing a road of a surface at the Chinnaswamy as one of the reasons behind his decision. Rahul also cited a history of chasing teams winning as another factor behind his decision. Kohli immediately went after the inexperienced bowling attack during the powerplay, with Avesh Khan and Jaydev Unadkat beginning the bowling. As a result, Rahul was forced to bring in Wood in the sixth over. This turned out to be counterproductive, as Kohli hit him for a boundary over his head and a six over cow corner to bring an end to the powerplay with a score of 56-0. The spinners were able to suffocate the flow of runs for the following three overs, but Kohli was able to break free of their hold with a 13-run over off of Krunal Pandya.
Once Kohli was out, Maxwell and Faf pushed in for the kill, not sparing anyone.
Following Amit Mishra’s successful capture of the prize wicket of Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell and Faf du Plessis initially took on the leg-spinners. It was du Plessis who hammered Bishnoi for 20 runs off an over, including the longest six of the 2023 Indian Premier League (115 meters). This resulted in an all-out assault on the bowling of the LSG, with even pace spearhead Mark Wood becoming the target of a couple particularly lusty sixes. Maxwell did finally be run out on the penultimate ball, but by that point, the damage had already been done, as RCB had already set LSG a whopping 213.
It’s likely that Mayers was able to get LSG off to a good start, right?
…not exactly.
Mohammad Siraj got the better of the in-form Kyle Mayers by bowling him out, and then Wayne Parnell got both Robin Hooda and Krunal Pandya to edge behind in the same over, which led to three wickets falling in the powerplay. It appeared as though the RCB were bowling on a whole other pitch. Hence, the powerplay did not go exactly how LSG had expected for it — not to mention KL Rahul, who watched the pandemonium develop from the other end while continuing to battle with his fluency.
Reconstruction of Stoinis and Rahul for LSG
KL Rahul and Marcus Stoinis continued turning the strike over, but it was Marcus Stoinis who went on Harshal Patel and clubbed 17 runs off of his first over. Although the format does not exactly lend itself to rebuilding, this is precisely what happened. Stoinis then led the LSG counterattack and proceeded to tear the bowling apart, while KL Rahul struggled. The focus was on keeping wickets in hand after the early blows were dealt, and Stoinis continued to take the bowling apart. The new Australian player reached his fifty with a stunning six off of Shahbaz Ahmed, reaching the milestone after only 25 balls. He then finished the 10th over with another six, bringing the over to a close.
The LSG bubble was popped.
Stoinis holed out to sweeper cover off Karn Sharma just as Rahul and Stoinis appeared to be in a position to run away with it. Stoinis made the mistake of trying to hit one too many sixes during his at-bat. KL Soon after, Rahul followed suit by flicking the ball on straight to deep square leg in a last-ditch effort to boost the ante. Even though half of the team had to go back to the cabin, there was still a ray of optimism since Pooran and Badoni were out there.
Do you believe that Rinku Singh was the final miracle of the Indian Premier League?
You are about to receive yet another thought. Between overs 11 and 15, the Lightning Strike Group scored 80 runs, turning what had been a glimmer of hope into a shining ray of sunshine thanks to Nicholas Pooran’s blitz of sixes. And just when everyone thought it was going to be a piece of cake, things started to become dramatic. Siraj bowled a ball that was just below waist height, which removed Pooran. This allowed Unadkat and the rest of the tail to enter the game, which turned the contest once again on its head.
The thrilling climax of the play
This is not an exaggeration of the situation. Ayush Badoni played one of the most skilled scoop shots against Wayne Parnell, taking a yorker on the full and depositing it over fine leg for six. It was a shot that would’ve made it “Scores level,” except that he managed to brush his stumps with the toe of the bat on his followthrough, resulting in a hit wicket dismissal! And on the very last ball of the chase, with only one run needed to win, Harshal Patel attempted a “run out at the non-end,” striker’s but he missed the stumps completely. As a result, he was eventually forced to bowl the ball, which Avesh Khan also missed, but LSG managed to sneak a bye in order to pull off a stunning heist at the Chinnaswamy.
Where do these two teams go from here?
The Royal Challengers Bangalore will play their match against the Delhi Capitals at their home stadium in Bangalore on Saturday (April 15), while the Lucknow Super Giants will play their match against the Punjab Kings at their home stadium in Lucknow later that same day.
Marcus Stoinis scored 65 runs, Nicolas Pooran scored 62 runs, and Mohammad Siraj took three wickets as the Know Super Giants defeated the Royal Challengers Bangalore by one wicket. Their score was 213-9 in 20 overs. Faf du Plessis scored 79 runs not out, Virat Kohli scored 61 runs, and Glenn Maxwell scored 59 runs. Amit Mishra took one wicket.
