In a surprising turn of events, Royal Challengers Bangalore has beaten Lucknow Super Giants by 18 runs in a low-scoring match at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium.
Despite a modest total of 126 runs on the board, Bangalore managed to defend their score thanks to an incredible bowling performance from Josh Hazlewood, Karn Sharma, Mohammed Siraj, Glenn Maxwell, Wanindu Hasaranga and Harshal Patel. The Lucknow Super Giants simply couldn't cope with the relentless pressure exerted by the Bangalore bowlers, and they crumbled under the weight of their own expectations.
Lucknow Super Giants had high hopes of victory before the game started, but their dreams were dashed when Kyle Mayers was dismissed on the second ball of their innings. Krunal Pandya tried to build some momentum by hitting Siraj for three successive fours in the third over, but he fell to a delivery from Maxwell in the very next over. Lucknow Super Giants were now under pressure, and things only got worse when Ayush Badoni went for a lofted drive and was caught by an impressive fielder at extra cover.
As the wickets began to tumble, it was clear that Lucknow Super Giants were struggling to keep up with the required run rate. Hasaranga took the wicket of Deepak Hooda, drawing him out of the crease with a googly and beating him on the inside edge, and then cleverly had Nicholas Pooran miscue a heave to deep square leg. Despite K. Gowtham hitting some big shots to keep the game alive, Bangalore hit back hard and Marcus Stoinis was caught out by a fielder at long-off, while Gowtham himself was run out while attempting a risky second run.
Ravi Bishnoi was dropped by point, but he was run out on the very same delivery while trying to sneak in another run. Amit Mishra and Naveen-ul-Haq tried to hang around and give Lucknow Super Giants some hope, but the latter eventually nicked behind off Hazlewood. With the required run rate climbing higher and higher, even KL Rahul couldn't save Lucknow Super Giants from defeat as he failed to score off three deliveries and Mishra was caught out by the keeper off Patel.
As the final result was announced, fans and analysts alike were left in shock at how easily Bangalore had managed to defend such a modest total. The win has taken Bangalore to fifth place on the table, while Lucknow Super Giants have slipped to third place. It remains to be seen whether they can bounce back from this devastating loss and regain their momentum in the tournament.
Regenerate response
Brief scores: Royal Challengers Bangalore 126/9 in 20 overs (Faf du Plessis 44, Virat Kohli 31; Naveen-ul-Haq 3-30, Ravi Bishnoi 2-21) beat Lucknow Super Giants 108 all out in 19.5 overs (K. Gowtham 23, Amit Mishra 19; Josh Hazlewood 2-15, Karn Sharma 2-20) by 18 runs