Royal Challengers Bangalore continued their impressive run and with their fifth win of the IPL 2022, climbed up the second spot in the standings. Now, they are separated by table-toppers on the basis of just the net run-rate and this is when they are yet to fire on all cylinders. Lucknow Super Giants became their latest victim who failed to chase down 182 at the DY Patil Stadium.
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Here we look at the major talking points from the contest:-
Another Golden Duck For Kohli
There was a wry smile on his face. Virat Kohli is having that kind of a season. He’s getting starts but somehow opposition is managing to get him out. He has once been victim to a dubious decision and has been run out twice so far this season. On Tuesday, he was out for a golden duck. A short and wide delivery with Kohli steering it away to fielder at point who was seven meters inside from where he should otherwise have been stationed. This is the fourth time in his IPL career that Kohli has been dismissed off the very first delivery. Ashish Nehra, Sandeep Sharma, Nathan Coulter-Nile and now Dushmantha Chameera have the distinction of getting rid of the superstar for a first-ball duck.
Also Read: RCB Beat LSG by 18 Runs
Faf The Saviour
One of the reasons why Chennai Super Kings held on to Faf du Plessis for so long was his ability to hold the innings together and accelerate when needed. If there was an option to retain five players, Faf would certainly have been their fifth retention. He proved on Tuesday why RCB shelled out Rs 7 crore for him at the mega auction. LSG had gotten rid of Kohli and Glenn Maxwell inside Powerplay and had reduced RCB to 62/4. However, Faf was still batting. And he did find partners to bat alongside him as well. Slowly and steadily he rebuilt the innings and became the glue that held them together. He was drenched in sweat when a tired shot in the final over ended his stay. But by then, he had scored 96 and put helped his team to a challenging score.
The Review
Nobody was interested. Nobody. But the umpire’s call piqued their curiosity. The decision to not signal a wide after Harshal bowled one down the leg-side and LSG opener KL Rahul’s unsuccessful attempt to glance it away. A close-up of wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik was proof enough what he thought of the delivery. Harshal also had a look at the umpire. If it’s not wide, then it must have struck something. Yup. They did go for the DRS. And UltraEdge showed a little spike at the moment when the ball went past the bat. Rahul was shaking his head as he crossed the boundary while looking at the big screen, seemingly to double-check if he had indeed edged it.
Inconsistent Pandey
Manish Pandey was dropped for a couple of matches by LSG before being given another go against Mumbai Indians. He made a decent 38 off 29. Thanks to that effort, LSG persisted with him for a second game in a row. He walked in to bat early inside the Powerplay, at the No. 3 spot. And he gathered six runs before a miscued hit ended his innings. Third time this season he has failed to touch double-digits. 6, 5, 11, 38, 6. These are his scores in five innings. With the season soon approaching its business end, Pandey will have to pull his socks up and start delivering consistently.
RCB Ace Death-overs Challenge
For RCB, death-overs have been an area of concern. But against LSG, they finally seemed to have found a solution. Mohammed Siraj was hastened through his overs but Josh Hazlewood was held back as was Harshal Patel. After 16 overs, LSG needed 54 runs. A tall ask but they had big-hitting Marcus Stoinis and in-form Ayush Badoni in the middle. And Jason Holder was still waiting in the dug-out. Faf unleashed Hazelwood and Harshal to defend the runs. The 17th and 18th over resulted in 10 runs each. However, Hazelwood sent back Badoni in his. And then in the penultimate over, he cleaned up Stoinis on 24. When Holder arrived, he was left with too much to do. RCB conceded just 35 in the final four while taking three wickets.
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