IPL 2022: du Plessis’s 96, Hazelwood’s 4-wicket inning lead RCB to 18 runs win

The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) won their fifth match in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 on Tuesday at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, defeating the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) by 18 runs.

Faf du Plessis’s 96 and an outstanding four-wicket performance from Josh Hazlewood helped the team grab a win. LSG lost Quinton de Kock’s wicket early in the chase after the left-handed opener was caught at first slip off Hazlewood’s bowling.

Chasing 182 to win, LSG lost Quinton de Kock’s wicket early in the chase when the left-handed opener was caught at first slip off Hazlewood’s bowling.

KL Rahul, the captain of the LSG, got off to a strong start with two fours and a six. Hazlewood, on the other hand, claimed his second wicket by dismissing Manish Pandey.

LSG were 44-2 at the end of the powerplay after Krunal Pandya hit two fours in the sixth over.

Harshal Patel allowed 14 runs in his eighth over, but the pacer still managed to eliminate the LSG captain, who was caught behind for 30.

Krunal Pandya seemed in terrific form, as the left-handed batter lofted a six over extra-cover in the 10th over, bringing LSG to 83-3 at half-time.

LSG reached their century in the 12th over before RCB took two fast wickets.

While Deepak Hooda was caught by Prabhudessai with a brilliant running catch in the outfield, Krunal’s innings was cut short as the left-hander holed out to the deep.

With Marcus Stoinis and Ayush Badoni at the crease, LSG needed 65 runs from the final five overs.

Badoni was caught behind in the 17th over, giving Hazlewood his third wicket of the game.

The 18th over yielded 9 runs, reducing the equation to 34 runs in the final two overs. RCB won the game by 18 runs when Hazlewood castled Stoinis for his fourth wicket of the innings.

Earlier, RCB, who were given the opportunity to bat first, did not modify their lineup from the previous game.

After taking the wickets of Anuj Rawat and Virat Kohli in the first over, Dushmantha Chameera got off to a great start with the ball.

As 19 runs came off the third over, Glenn Maxwell joined skipper Faf du Plessis in the middle and counter-attacked Chameera by slamming two fours and a six.

After Jason Holder successfully grabbed a diving catch in the sixth over, Krunal Pandya dismissed Maxwell, and RCB were 47-3 at the end of the powerplay.

After Suyash Prabhudessai lofted a six against Bishnoi, the next over brought 15 runs. However, Holder’s bowling caught the right-handed hitter, and RCB lost their fourth wicket.

Before Shahbaz Ahmed and du Plessis stitched a fifty partnership, RCB were 87-4 at half-time.

After hitting Bishnoi for a six in the 14th over, RCB skipper reached his half-century. After du Plessis hit a four and a six in the 15th over, the team scored 13 runs.

Shahbaz Ahmed was run out for 26 to bring the 70-run partnership to an end. With two overs to go, du Plessis had gone into the 90s and RCB were 164-5.

Against Avesh Khan, Dinesh Karthik hit a six in the penultimate over. The RCB skipper was dismissed for 96 in the penultimate over by Jason Holder, but the team still managed to score 181/6 in the first innings.