Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) produced a commanding performance to beat Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) by five wickets in 29 balls at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday. A slow pitch with uneven bounce played into RCB’s varied bowling attack and helped the defending IPL champions register their fourth win in five matches and climb to the top of the points table.
RCB bowlers dominate on slow Chinnaswamy surface
The bowlers were the real architects of RCB’s victory. On a surface that offered grip and variable bounce, Rasikh Salam Dar stole the show with career-best figures of 4/24. The Jammu and Kashmir pacer shrewdly mixed his pace, used slower deliveries and pinpointed yorkers to dismantle LSG’s lower order. Bhuvneshwar Kumar complemented him perfectly, taking 3/27 and reaching a personal milestone as Krunal Pandya took his 100th IPL wicket.
Josh Hazlewood maintained his usual accuracy and bowled at an economical rate of 5, while Suyash Sharma extracted a sharp turn even without a wicket.
A disciplined bowling unit restricted Lucknow Super Giants to a modest 146 all out in 20 overs. Mitchell Marsh top-scored with 40 off 32 balls while Mukul Choudhary 39 (28) and Ayush Badoni 38 (24) attempted a recovery but the middle and death overs collapsed dramatically.
LSG batting stutters after early promise
LSG started bright but quickly lost momentum. Aiden Markram fell on the leading edge off Rasikh and Nicholas Pooran’s poor run continued when he dragged the short ball onto his stumps from Hazlewood. The biggest blow came when skipper Rishabh Pant was injured after being hit on the left elbow by a sharp short-cut from Hazlewood. Pant later made a brief comeback but was dismissed for just one run to a stunning catch by Phil Salt at deep mid-wicket. He did not take the field after that, with Nicholas Pooran captaining in his absence and Mukul Choudhary keeping wickets.
Virat Kohli’s master class powers RCB’s chase
Chasing 147, RCB lost Phil Salt early but found their rhythm through Virat Kohli. The star batsman, who came on as a substitute after missing the field due to a niggle from the previous game, immediately took charge. Kohli smashed 49 off 34 balls, including four boundaries in one through Prince Yadav. His aggressive intent canceled out the early setback and kept the required run rate in check.
Rajat Patidar 27 (13) and Jitesh Sharma 23 (9) along with Tim David 14 (8) and Romario Shepherd 14 (8) provided handy cameos as RCB were bowled out at 149/5 in just 15.1 overs. Prince Yadav took 3/32 and Avesh Khan took 2/23 for LSG but their efforts proved insufficient against a confident RCB batting.
What’s next for RCB and LSG?
RCB will stay at home and take on Delhi Capitals in a day match on Saturday, April 18. Meanwhile, Lucknow Super Giants will travel to New Chandigarh to take on a strong Punjab Kings side on Sunday, April 19.
