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RCB VS LSG - POST MATCH REVIEW:
Where to begin from? The nervousness,the anxiety and the sheer drama. Yes, it’s been that kind of a game. After a rare dull opening week of the multi team tournament, the last two days have completely lived up to the bar that this league sets. I bet there are no nails left to eat because the what we witnessed here at the Chinnaswamy exceeds all expectations.
It was a topsy turvy journey for both units but the Rahul led Lucknow have come out victorious by the barest of margins (1 run). To start off with, LSG decided to bowl unsurprisingly given the flat wicket and the shorter boundaries here only to be on the receiving end of an on song slaughter in the powerplay by the King, Virat Kohli. Though Faf looked rusty initially, it took him just a few sixes off Bishnoi to shed off the rustiness and finish strong, contributing every ounce of what he offers to RCB. Barring the stunning opening stand of the duo, Glenn Maxwell coming from an injury and lack of play time in the first two matches, joined in the fun, playing a pivotal role in the carnage that was being created here. All three brutally assaulted the LSG bowling lineup, racking up a massive total of 212 on board.
But was it enough to stop the star studded lineup of LSG?
RCB, with the rockling start they got in the second innings would have believed but little did they know what lies ahead of them. Powerhitting is one aspect of batting that holds the strength to tear the game apart and in the form of Stoinis and Pooran, LSG had the perfect destroyers to dismantle RCB in the middle and towards the later part of the game. While Stoinis started strongly compensating for a struggling KL at the other end, it was the brute force of Pooran, that sealed the deal(nearly). Having notched up the second fastest fifty of the IPL, the trust that Lucknow had on him was repaid again and the immense value that the Caribbean brings to the table was revealed in the most powerful fashion possible. No bowler was spared as the Hard hitting keeper kept accessing different areas of the ground, maximising the dimensions.
What it took to dismiss him was a debatable high full toss that ideally should have been deposited in the stands by Siraj and what followed this, was utter madness. Badoni fell prey to Parnell off a hit wicket dismissal (one of the very rare commodities of this game), Unadkat gained a bit of control, LSG found it extremely challenging to score boundaries but the drama was still reserved till the very last over to be bowled by an off colour Harshal Patel.
But much to everyone’s shock, Harshal kept delivering the goods picking up the key wickets of Mark Wood and Unadkat in the last over. But the willy running from Bishnoi to complete the double and a bit of a fumble from Karthik sealed LSG’s fate and helped them earn their first away win of this season, closing out on one of the most remarkable finishes. In the middle of this, we also saw a premeditated attempt from Patel to mankand Bishnoi, ending in a failure, opening himself up to criticism from the public. But do not let the “Spirit of Cricket” deviate your mind from the fact that LSG achieved their maiden triumph against RCB on the back of a sensational T20 game.