LSG VS RCB T20S

That is it from this game and what a game we have had to kick off a new week in the 2023 Indian T20 League. Cricketing action will continue in the league on Tuesday, the 11th of April, with the only two teams yet to win a game squaring off against each other. It will be Delhi going up against Mumbai at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi in a high-octane encounter. That game will begin at 7.30 pm IST (2 pm GMT) but our build-up, as usual, will begin in advance. Cheers!

Nicholas Pooran is the PLAYER OF THE MATCH for his sensational match-winning knock of 62 runs from 19 balls. He starts by thanking the Almighty and dedicates this win to his wife and his newborn. He says that the partnership with KL Rahul was wonderful and adds that the knock by Marcus Stoinis kept them in the game. Mentions that it was a good wicket and feels that it was all about cashing in and executing the skills. States that it was a matter of having a look and reacting if the ball was in his slot. Ends by saying that he is in a good state of mind this year and wants to enjoy his cricket.

The Lucknow skipper, KL Rahul says that it was an incredible finish and adds that he has grown up playing on the ground and he knows that no other ground can produce last-ball chases like this one. Mentions that they lost early wickets but managed to stay on and credits Marcus Stoinis and Nicholas Pooran for the way they played and it is because of them that they have two points in the bag. On his own form, he says that it is not ideal and when he scores more runs, the strike rate also goes up and he should have tried to build a stand with Nicholas Pooran. On the performance of the middle order, he says that most games are won by the batters batting at positions 3, 4, and 5 and that is why they have invested in such powerful hitters like Stoinis and Pooran and also goes on to applaud the effort of Ayush Badoni as well.

The Presentation ceremony...

One of the stars with the bat for Lucknow, Marcus Stoinis is in for a chat. He says that it was a beautiful pitch and at 20 for 3, the need was to attack. Shares that it is good to contribute as Lucknow are a new and young franchise and had not won away from home this season. Feels that they bowled well in the Powerplay and adds that the spinners did a good job as well. Credits Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli for the way they batted. Ends by saying that 200 was a par score at this venue and it was important to get off to a good start.

Faf du Plessis, the skipper of Bangalore, starts by saying that he is disappointed but credits Lucknow for the way they played. Adds that his side fought back beautifully. Mentions that the batting during the middle overs was a bit slow but towards the end, the ball came on nicely onto the bat. Feels that they tried everything they could and it was unfortunate that one of their stronger bowlers Harshal Patel was taken on at the start of his spell. Adds that he did fight back well. Mentions that this is a difficult venue to bowl at the death and have to be on top of the game. Also says that he was struggling for the most part of his innings and was happy to give the strike back to Virat Kohli. Ends by saying that he got his flow back after getting a few shots from the middle of the bat.

Earlier in the game, KL Rahul put Bangalore into bat first but the opening pair of Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis took the bull by the horns and were rampant from the get-go. However, they never got too far away with the run rate and the Lucknow spinners pulled things back really well in the middle phase. It was then some blitz from Glenn Maxwell and Faf du Plessis in the last 5 overs that got Bangalore back on track and well over the 200-run mark. Mark Wood was the pick of the bowlers for Lucknow but the likes of Amit Mishra and Krunal Pandya too bowled decently. Coming to the chase, it went one way then the other and then swung back and forth a couple of times more before eventually, Lucknow got over the line on the final ball and that too in dramatic fashion.

Bangalore will be gutted to have ended up on the losing side in this game as they were well in control of things out there. Mohammed Siraj started things off with an early wicket that was followed by a double strike from Wayne Parnell and along with David Willey, the pace trio kept their side on top of things. Things though changed after the Powerplay and their bowlers were taken to the cleaners. The likes of Harshal Patel, Karn Sharma and Shahbaz Ahmed couldn't do much but they did get back in the game with two quick wickets. They failed to capitalize and Nicholas Pooran punished them duly. Siraj bowled another top over at the death and got rid of Pooran as well but by then, the required rate was too low and Lucknow were just a boundary or two away from victory.

Lucknow had the daunting task of chasing down 213 runs and got off to the worst start possible as Kyle Mayers fell in the very first over. Deepak Hooda and Krunal Pandya soon followed suit and Lucknow looked in real trouble. However, Marcus Stoinis then came in and played his best-ever knock in this league as he scored 65 runs off 30 balls before getting out. KL Rahul continued to struggle a bit for timing and fell too but then came the innings that really turned the game on its head. Nicholas Pooran smoked the ball to all parts of the ground and went on to score 62 runs off 19 balls with ample support from Ayush Badoni at the other end. But, both of them fell too and somehow the tailenders managed to wriggle their way out of a pressure situation to seal the win.

Wow, what a game and what a finish! The Indian T20 League has given us many memorable finishes over the years and this one is right up there. The game swung like a pendulum with Bangalore looking good for the win midway through the chase and then Nicholas Pooran completely changed the landscape before Bangalore made another comeback to take it deep. In the end, though, Lucknow seal a memorable win away from home and their fans will remember it for a long, long time.

Bye and Lucknow get over the line! Harshal Patel bowls it slower and it's a low dipping full toss, just outside off, Avesh Khan has a wild swing at the ball but connects with thin air. The batters scamper across for a bye as Dinesh Karthik behind the wicket fails to gather it cleanly. This fumble allows the batters to complete the run and they set off on their celebratory run. Unreal scenes at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium! Lucknow win by 1 wicket!

Oh, what drama! Ravi Bishnoi at the non-striker's end is ready to sprint out of the blocks and Harshal Patel stops mid-way through his delivery stride to catch out Bishnoi. Patel throws it back onto the stumps and gets the direct hit and appeals. The umpire says that Patel was well through the stride and it cannot be given out and hence doesn't go upstairs.

Avesh Khan is the last man in for Lucknow.

OUT! IN THE AIR AND GONE! Bends his back and bangs it in short on middle, Jaydev Unadkat tries to pull but the ball climbs on him. Skies this one in the air towards long on where Faf du Plessis runs forwards and completes the catch. Are we heading to a Super Over here?

Scores level now! Short and at the batter by Harshal Patel, Ravi Bishnoi swivels in his crease and pulls it to deep backward square leg for a single.

Smart batting! Harshal Patel goes full and just outside off, Ravi Bishnoi gets bat to ball and places it gently towards point. Bishnoi sprints hard and makes his ground at the striker's end.

Ravi Bishnoi walks out to bat now.

OUT! TIMBER! Harshal Patel rolls his fingers over the ball and bowls a yorker on middle, Mark Wood looks to go down the ground but gets deceived completely by the dip of the ball. He misses and ends up seeing his woodwork disturbed. The Bangalore fans are up on their feet as they sense an opening here.