On the batting paradise at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, 425 runs were scored in 40 overs during the previous match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Lucknow Super Giants. On their home pitch on Monday night, LSG offered a pitch with black soil, and the ball clung to and held in the surface. In 39.5 overs, 234 runs were scored, and RCB won by 18 runs.
LSG’s response began in a nightmare. They were 38 for 5 after seven overs, and after Marcus Stoinis and Gowtham both fell in successive overs, they quickly collapsed to 77 for 8 after that. KL Rahul was the sole remaining hope for LSG at that time. In the second over of the game, he injured his right leg and walked off the pitch. But when he was called upon at position 11, LSG needed 24 from eight balls.
Rahul’s decision to avoid running between the wickets was obvious. He completed three dots, one of which was a free hit, after which he observed Mishra attempting to achieve the necessary 23 runs in the final over but failing. However, a post-game fight between Kohli and Gautam Gambhir, the coach of LSG, diminished the significance of RCB’s victory.
LSG slip further
LSG continued to try to approach the target by attacking. Gowtham struck Karn for a six and a four before hitting Hasaranga for another six. As a result, the number of overs from the previous 10 was lowered to 64. However, Stoinis sliced it to long-off when he attempted to go big against Karn. In the following over, Gowtham also perished as a result of his careless running while coming back for a second run.
Rahul leaves it too late
LSG had two wickets in hand and needed 49 runs in the final five overs. Rahul was still padded up in the dugout while Mishra and Naveen were in the middle. When Rahul eventually entered, it was already too late because he was unable to flee and Mishra was unable to obtain the borders as the required rate kept increasing.
Royal Challengers Bangalore 126 for 9 (du Plessis 44, Kohli 31, Naveen 3-30) beat Lucknow Super Giants 108 (Gowtham 23, Hazlewood 2-15, Karn 2-20) by 18 runs