Maxwell had struck in his first over. He had fired the delivery wide and hadn’t offered too much pace on it. Krunal had come shuffling down the track and had looked for an inside-out loft. He had just relied on timing and hadn’t bothered to exert any power on that. He had chipped it off the bottom half of the bat and Kohli had completed a fine catch running back and to his right at long-off. After taking the catch, Virat was chuffed to bits. He looked at the Lucknow crowd and asked them to shut up signaling them with his finger. He then blew a kiss to someone in the crowd and let out a huge roar.
He followed this catch with another stunner to dismiss Ayush Badoni. Badoni, who came to open in place of the injured KL Rahul, creamed the cover drive over Kohli’s head. But the former RCB captain leaped in the air to take another blinder. He blew a kiss yet another time and asked the crowd to cheer for RCB. After so many days, Virat Kohli is looking pumped and up for a challenge.Â
After being reduced to 126/9 in 20 overs against the Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL 2023 encounter on Monday in Lucknow, Mohammed Siraj gave RCB the perfect start. Krunal Pandya, who was playing well, was removed by Siraj for 0(2) as he and valuable replacement Ayush Badoni were heading LSG’s chase. Amit Mishra, Ravi Bishnoi, and Naveen-ul-Haq all claimed two wickets earlier, while Naveen-ul-Haq claimed three. Faf du Plessis contributed for RCB with 44 (40), regaining the Orange Cap in the process.
Before Virat Kohli was stumped for 31(30), he and Kohli added 62 runs for the first wicket. However, RCB was unable to capitalize on the strong start and frequently lost wickets. KL Rahul’s limping off the pitch in the second over gave LSG a serious injury worry. The event occurred when the Lucknow captain pursued a ball that was heading for the cover barrier.
Form of the both teams
With four victories and as many defeats in eight games, Royal Challengers Bangalore are fifth in the standings. They suffered a 21-run defeat to Kolkata Knight Riders in their previous game. They have been inconsistent throughout the season, and aside from Kohli, du Plessis, and Maxwell, the rest of their batsmen have been ineffective. The bowling unit has also shown weak, particularly in crucial situations. RCB will be eager to improve upon their performance in this game and maintain their position in the standings.Â
In contrast, Lucknow Super Giants are third in the standings with 5 victories and 3 defeats in 8 games. They defeated Punjab Kings in their prior game by a score of 56 runs. Stoinis and Mayers were the star of the show helping them post a mammoth score of 257. They will enter this game with a lot of confidence. The Lucknow Super Giants defeated RCB by a single win earlier this season when these two teams previously faced off. It was an exciting last-ball result, and we can anticipate another closely contested match between these two teams.
Royal Challengers Bangalore (Playing XI): Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis(c), Anuj Rawat, Glenn Maxwell, Mahipal Lomror, Dinesh Karthik(w), Suyash Prabhudessai, Wanindu Hasaranga, Karn Sharma, Mohammed Siraj, Josh Hazlewood
Lucknow Super Giants (Playing XI): KL Rahul(c), Kyle Mayers, Deepak Hooda, Marcus Stoinis, Krunal Pandya, Nicholas Pooran(w), Krishnappa Gowtham, Ravi Bishnoi, Naveen-ul-Haq, Amit Mishra, Yash Thakur
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