LSG vs RCB 31st Match, IPL 2022

Arya: Earlier in the day, it was the LSG skipper KL Rahul who won the toss and following the trend put the oppositions in. Royal Challengers Bangalore had the worst possible start losing opener Anuj Rawat and former skipper Virat Kohli in the last two deliveries of the opening over of Dushmantha Chameera. Just when it looked the LSG opening bowlers will put some serious pressure on the RCB middle-order, skipper Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell shared a quick little partnership which again put RCB back on track. 

Maxwell targetted the powerplay but eventually perished in an attempt to play the reverse sweep over short third man. He scored a quick 11 balls 23. RCB also lost the wicket of Prabudessai not for many and the LSG bowlers looked to tighten the screws and strangle them in the last 10 overs. However, Du Plessis and Shahbaz Ahmed had some other ideas. 

The duo forged together a brilliant partnership that helped RCB storm their way back into the game. Du Plessis was phenomenal with his strokeplay and after a quiet start to the innings, he kept growing in confidence and plundered the LSG attack all around the DY Patil Stadium. He was at his imperious best, especially in the final overs and just fell 4 short of a well-deserved century. 

Dinesh Karthik came in at the fall of Shahbaz Ahmed’s wicket and smacked a straight six of Avesh Khan. However, Jason Holder bowled a fantastic final over, conceding just 4 runs which ensured that RCB’s hopes of reaching the 190 mark faded away. They eventually managed to score 181 in their allotted 20 overs. Dushmantha Chameera and Jason Holder were the pick of the LSG bowlers bagging a couple of wickets each. 

Arya: The run-chase would have always been a difficult one for Lucknow Super Giants as the skipper KL Rahul suggested in the post-match presentation that they ended up conceding 10-15 runs more than the par score. KL Rahul started off with some impressive shots but lost his partner Quinton de Kock very early. Josh Hazlewood was at his best with the new ball as he shaped one away from the left-hander and got an outside edge straight to Dinesh Karthik behind the stumps. 

Manish Pandey looked scratchy in the middle and eventually sliced one straight to the short square leg fielder as Hazlewood had his second wicket. KL Rahul batted sensibly scoring 30 of 24 deliveries before a magical review taken by Faf du Plessis brought about his downfall. Hardly anyone realised that Rahul had got a faintest of feathers to that. Even Karthik didn’t know but it was a masterstroke to for the review and replays showed there was a clear spike when the ball was next to the glove. 

It was a nice little partnership between Krunal Pandya and Deepak Hooda who kept them in the game. Krunal Pandya in particular got off to a sensational start and struck some lusty blows. Hooda manoeuvred along the field and looked in good touch. However, his dismissal at a crucial juncture put the brakes on LSG. They kept losing their way after the loss of Krunal Pandya’s wicket. 

Still, with the likes of Ayush Badoni, Marcus Stoinis and Jason Holder around, LSG would have still given them a chance. However, Stoinis’ dismissal in the penultimate over was the final nail in the coffin for them as it was such an uphill task from thereon. Eventually, they fell well short by 18 runs. RCB climbed to the 2nd spot in the points table behind Gujarat Titans.