Bangalore gallantly defend paltry target

Royal Challengers Bangalore successfully defended a moderate target as they beat Lucknow Super Giants by 18 runs at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Monday.

After opting to bat, Bangalore posted 126 for nine in their 20 overs and in their response Lucknow finished on 108 in 19.5 overs.

Earlier, Bangalore began well as Virat Kohli and skipper Faf du Plessis added 62 for the first wicket. But after Kohli fell for 31 skipper du Plessis carried on without any issue. He tried to build the innings but wickets fell at regular intervals. du Plessis fell for 44 off 40 balls with one boundary and one six. Towards the end Dinesh Karthik made a significant contribution of 16 off 11 balls. In the end Bangalore finished on 126 for nine in their 20 overs. For Lucknow the best bowlers were Naveen-ul-Haq (3-30), Ravi Bishnoi (2-21) and Amit Mishra (2-21).

In their response, Lucknow lost wickets at regular intervals. They were reduced to 27 for four and then 38 for five. Then Marcus Stoinis teamed up with Krishnappa Gowtham added 27 runs for the sixth wicket. But just as the innings was coming back on track, Lucknow again lost wickets. Then a 26 run ninth wicket stand between Naveen-ul-Haq and Amit Mishra brought some hope. In the end skipper Lokesh Rahul, who injured himself while fielding, came to bat as the last man. In the end Lucknow was bowled out for 108 in 19.5 overs. For Bangalore the two best bowlers were Karn Sharma (2-20) and Josh Hazlewood (2-15). 

Match Summary

Royal Challengers Bangalore: 126-9 (20)
Fall of wickets: 1-62 (Virat Kohli-8.6 ov), 2-75 (Anuj Rawat-11.4 ov), 3-80 (Glenn Maxwell-12.4 ov), 4-90 (Suyash Prabhudessai-14.3 ov), 5-109 (Faf du Plessis-16.5 ov), 6-114 (Mahipal Lomror-17.5 ov), 7-117 (Dinesh Karthik-18.4 ov), 8-121 (Karn Sharma-19.2 ov), 9-121 (Mohammed Siraj-19.3 ov)

Lucknow Super Giants: 108 (19.5)
Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Kyle Mayers-0.2 ov), 2-19 (Krunal Pandya-3.3 ov), 3-21 (Ayush Badoni-4.1 ov), 4-27 (Deepak Hooda-5.1 ov), 5-38 (Nicholas Pooran-6.6 ov), 6-65 (Marcus Stoinis-10.4 ov), 7-66 (Krishnappa Gowtham-11.1 ov), 8-77 (Ravi Bishnoi-14.4 ov), 9-103 (Naveen-ul-Haq-18.4 ov), 10-108 (Amit Mishra-19.5 ov)

Playing XIs

Lucknow Super Giants: KL Rahul (captain), Kyle Mayers, Deepak Hooda, Marcus Stoinis, Krunal Pandya, Nicholas Pooran (wicket-keeper), K Gowtham, Naveen-ul-Haq, Ravi Bishnoi, Amit Mishra, Yash Thakur; Subs: Ayush Badoni, Daniel Sams, Quinton de Kock, Prerak Mankad, Avesh Khan

Impact player: Ayush Badoni for Yash Thakur (1st innings, 19.6 ov)

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Faf du Plessis (captain), Virat Kohli, Anuj Rawat, Glenn Maxwell, Mahipal Lomror, Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Suyash Prabhudessai, Wanindu Hasaranga, Karn Sharma, Josh Hazlewood, Mohammed Siraj; Subs: Harshal Patel, Sonu Yadav, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Michael Bracewell, Shahbaz Ahmed

Impact player: Harshal Patel for Anuj Rawat (2nd innings, 9.6 ov)

Match Details

Toss: Royal Challengers Bangalore, elected to bat
Venue: Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow
Start time: 1400 hrs GMT
Match officials: Sadashiv Iyer, Anil Chaudhary (On-field Umpires); Nand Kishore (TV Umpire); Mohit Krishnadas (Reserve Umpire); Prakash Bhatt (Match-referee)