Virat Kohli led Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) chase with steady knock as they beat Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) by five wickets in their IPL match on Wednesday.Chasing 147, Kohli got RCB off to a strong start, scoring 49 off 34 balls, hitting six fours and one six. He looked set for his 66th IPL half-century but was dismissed on 49. He was caught by Nicholas Pooran off Avesh Khan while attempting a shot in the air towards long-on. Actor and Virat Kohli’s wife Anushka Sharma, who was present at the stadium, reacted with disappointment to his appeal.It was the first time Virat Kohli was dismissed at the age of 49 in his IPL career. Despite missing out on a half-century, he won the Orange Cap with 228 runs in the tournament. Earlier, fast bowler Rasikh Salam Dar returned figures of 4/24 to lead RCB’s bowling effort. Bhuvneshwar Kumar (3/27) and Krunal Pandya (2/38) also claimed wickets while Josh Hazlewood took one.After being asked to bat, LSG were bowled out for 146, their lowest total of the season. Mitchell Marsh (40 off 32) and Ayush Badoni (38 off 24) were the main contributors.In the chase, Rajat Patidar (27) and Jitesh Sharma (23) added quick runs as RCB reached 149 for 5 in 15.1 overs.Prince Yadav (3/32) and Avesh Khan (2/23) shared the wickets for LSG.The defending champions climbed to the top spot with eight points from five matches. LSG, on the other hand, are in seventh place with four points from as many matches.
