Skipper slams 96, Hazlewood scalps 4/25 as Bangalore down LSG by 18 runs
When Royal Challengers Bangalore went for Faf du Plessis during the IPL auction earlier this year, they were not only bringing their new skipper on board but also ensuring a 600-plus run-scorer for the season. The former South Africa captain is like a bank for a franchise. Whatever his age may be, du Plessis sees to it that runs flow from his bat.
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Tuesday wasn't any different. Faf scratched at the start and wasn't able to get going. At the end of the Powerplay, he was batting at 15 off 17 balls. But an experienced batter like him knows the tide does turn. And, the tide turned in the 9th over when Faf smashed Marcus Stoinis for a couple of boundaries to inject some momentum in his as well as the RCB innings.
1/10:Bangalore beat Lucknow
<p>Royal Challengers Bangalore rode on skipper Faf du Plessis' breezy 96 and Josh Hazlewood's brilliant bowling to inflict an 18-run defeat on Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL on Tuesday. (BCCI/IPL Photo)</p>
2/10:Faf du Plessis
<p>Du Plessis roared back to form after a string of low scores with a 64-ball knock to help RCB post 181/6 after being sent into bat. (BCCI/IPL Photo)</p>
3/10:Josh Hazlewood
<p>Hazlewood (4/25) then picked two wickets upfront and two at the fag end as RCB restricted LSG to 163/8 to register their fifth win of the season. (BCCI/IPL Photo)</p>
4/10:Virat Kohli
<p>Dushmantha Chameer (2/31 off 3) bowled a fruitful first over for LSG, snaring the wickets of opener Anuj Rawat (4) and Virat Kohli for a first-ball duck. (BCCI/IPL/PTI Photo)</p>
5/10:Glenn Maxwell
<p>Glenn Maxwell (23) slammed Chameera for two fours and a six in the third over before falling to Krunal Pandya (1/29) as RCB slipped to 44/3. (BCCI/IPL Photo)</p>
6/10:Solid stand
<p>Du Plessis switched gears in the slog overs with Dinesh Karthik and they took RCB beyond the 180-run mark. (BCCI/IPL Photo)</p>
7/10:Last ball dismissal
<p>Du plessis came close to scoring his maiden IPL century but was dismissed by Holder with one ball left in the innings. (BCCI/IPL Photo)</p>
8/10:LSG's chase rocked
<p>Hazlewood rocked LSG's chase early using the bounce and movement on offer, he accounted for Quinton de Kock (3) and Manish Pandey (6) in quick time. (BCCI/IPL Photo)</p>
9/10:KL Rahul
<p>LSG skipper KL Rahul made his way back to the dug out soon after Pandey as a delivery down the leg-side kissed his bat and RCB successfully reviewed it. (BCCI/IPL/PTI Photo)</p>
10/10:Marcus Stoinis
<p>Krunal Pandya (42) fell to Glenn Maxwell, while Deepak Hooda (13), Marcus Stoinis (24) and Ayush Badoni (13) were guilty of wasting their starts. (BCCI/IPL Photo)</p>After the Stoinis over, Faf got the big hits going and finished with a sparkling 96 (off 64b; 11x4, 2x6), which propelled RCB to a competitive score of 181/6 against Lucknow Super Giants at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.
LSG's chase was derailed by Josh Hazlewood (4/25), who picked two wickets at the top with the new ball and then came back in the death to send back Ayush Badoni and the dangerous Marcus Stoinis (24 off 15b; 2x4, 1x6). Jason Holder (16 off 9b; 2x6) hit a couple of lusty blows towards the end, but it was too late as RCB won by 18 runs.
The only time Super Giants looked to be in some serious hunt was when skipper KL Rahul (30 off 24b; 3x4, 1x6) and the hard-hitting Krunal Pandya (42 off 28b; 5x4, 2x6) were at the crease. However, both didn't last the distance.
Earlier, Faf found great support in Shahbaz Ahmed (26 off 22b; 1x4) with whom he added 70 runs for the fifth wicket in just eight overs. Later, Dinesh Karthik (13 off 8b; 1x6) joined Faf in the middle and the pair stitched together 49 runs for the sixth wicket.
Before Faf got going, Lucknow were all over RCB like a rash. The Rahul-led side had reduced RCB to 62/4 by the start of the eighth over. Besides Faf's brilliance with the bat, the other story of the Bangalore innings was Virat Kohli's continuance of bad form.
Kohli walked into the middle in the first over itself after Faf's opening partner, Anuj Rawat, got dismissed by Dushmantha Chameera. The Sri Lankan fast bowler pitched it up and the ball stopped a bit; Rawat couldn't keep his drive down and spooned a catch to mid-off.
The next ball, Kohli punched an away going short of a length delivery straight to backward point and Deepak Hooda pouched an easy take. It was a first-ball duck for Kohli his fourth in the IPL.
