IPL 2023: RCB beat LSG, defend their joint-lowest IPL total
Royal Challengers Bangalore beat Lucknow Super Giants in match number 43 of the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) season in Lucknow. RCB avenged their loss from the previous fixture between the two sides after defending 126/9. LSG perished for 108. Faf du Plessis was the top scorer of the low-scoring encounter (44). Notably, RCB have defended their joint-lowest total in the cash-rich league.
How did the match pan out?
Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis gave RCB another strong start. The duo added 62 runs before RCB suffered a batting collapse. Dinesh Karthik was the only other batter who scored in double figures. LSG restricted RCB to 126/9 in 20 overs. LSG, who lost Kyle Mayers in the first over, were tottering on 38/5. A concerted bowling effort helped RCB bowl out LSG.
Eight 50+ partnerships for RCB in IPL 2023
The Royal Challengers have now registered eight 50+ partnerships in the ongoing IPL season. Notably, Du Plessis has been involved in seven of these partnerships. Kohli too has complimented the regular RCB skipper in this phase.
Six players at number three
Left-handed batter Anuj Rawat came in to bat at number three. It is worth noting that RCB have used six players in this position in IPL 2023. Karthik, Michael Bracewell, Maxwell, Mahipal Lomror, and Shahbaz Ahmed are the others.
Third-most wickets in IPL
Leg-spinner Mishra dismissed Suyash Prabhudessai in the 15th over. With this, Mishra became the third-highest wicket-taker in the IPL. He surpassed Lasith Malinga, Piyush Chawla, and R Ashwin, each of whom owns 170 wickets in the tournament. Mishra, who has been a seasoned campaigner, is only behind Dwayne Bravo (183) and Yuzvendra Chahal (178) in terms of IPL wickets.
Naveen takes a three-fer
Naveen was the pick of LSG's bowlers in the match. He took three wickets for 30 runs, finishing with an economy rate of 7.50. Notably, these are now his career-best bowling figures in the cash-rich league. Naveen dismissed Mahipal Lomror before getting rid of Karn Sharma and Mohammed Siraj in the final over. Meanwhile, Bishnoi and Mishra shared four wickets.
RCB emulate their feat
As stated, RCB have defended their joint-lowest-total in the IPL (completed match). In the inaugural season (2008), the Royal Challengers defended 126/8 against Chennai Super Kings (CSK). The legendary spinner Anil Kumble was adjudged the Player of the Match after taking three wickets. Over a decade later, RCB have repeated this feat with a phenomenal win over LSG.
