Rasikh Salam was the star of the show at Bengaluru. He bowled impressively and was consistent with his line and length. After the injury against MI, Salam recovered and put on a show for the ages as he picked up regular wickets and put pressure on the opposition. Salam’s 4-wicket haul and Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s 3-wicket haul powered RCB forward. LSG were bowled out for 146 in 20 overs.
In reply, Impact Player Virat Kohli shone through as he dominated the partnership from the start to the finish. He scored a stylish 49 off 34 balls, missed out on a fifty by a whisker. The other players played around him and chipped around to get the team over the line. In the end, it was a cruise as they got over the line and there is nothing that LSG could do about it.
Rasikh Salam & Bhuvneshwar Kumar skittle LSG out for 146
Put into bat first by RCB, Mitchell Marsh and Aiden Markram came out to open for LSG while Bhuvneshwar Kumar had the ball in hand for RCB. LSG got off to a steady start as Marsh was the aggressor of the two while Markram played second fiddle. The first few overs were sedate before LSG upped the ante a little bit. The duo put on 32 for the first wicket inside 4 overs before Markram fell for 12 off 8 balls with a maximum to his name to Rasikh Salam. Captain and keeper Rishabh Pant came out to bat next.
No sooner had Pant come out to bat, he tried slogging Hazlewood and got hit on the left elbow and was in severe pain as he walked off the field with tears in his eyes. Nicholas Pooran came to replace him and he too struggled as well playing like Test cricket on a slow surface. The score was 35/1 un 6 overs of power play. Post that, at the start of the 7th over and middle phase, Pooran fell for 1 off 7 balls clean bowled by Josh Hazlewood. Ayush Badoni came out to bat and was quickly off the blocks looking the class apart and increasing the scoring rate.
Marsh and Badoni forged together and complemented each other really well. The duo put on 36 for the third wicket before Marsh fell for a well-made 40 off 32 balls with 3 fours and 2 sixes to his name to Krunal Pandya. Abdul Samad came out to bat next and did not last long. Samad and Badoni added 12 runs for the fourth wicket before Samad fell for a silver duck to Krunal Pandya only. Mukul Choudhary came out to bat next. Mukul was quickly off the blocks and played some delightful shots to get himself going.
Badoni was also playing his game as the innings was not going anywhere at this stage. The duo put on 35 runs for the 5th wicket before Badoni the set batter departed for 38 off 24 balls with 4 fours and one six to his name to Salam. Rishabh Pant came back to resume his innings next. He could get off the mark but the team was not going anywhere. He tried to slog and could not do anything about it. Just 6 runs were added to the tally before Pant fell for 1 off 6 balls to Bhuvneshwar Kumar thanks to a brilliant catch by Salt.
Impact Player George Linde came to the crease next. Linde and Mukul tried to forge a partnership of note and could muster only 13 runs before Linde fell for 7 off 7 balls with one boundary to his name to Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Mohammed Shami came and was knocked over first ball by Kumar for a golden duck. Avesh Khan came and joined Mukul in the middle. The duo added another 8 runs to the score before the last of the recognized batter Mukul fell for 39 off 28 balls with 3 fours and 2 sixes to his name to Salam. Digvesh Rathi came out to bat next.
Just one run was added for the last wicket before Avesh fell for 1 off 2 balls to Salam yet again. Digvesh was unbeaten on 0 off 3 balls as LSG were bowled out for 146 in 20 overs. 7 extras given by the fielding side. RCB bowlers were spot on with the ball. Rasikh Salam was the pick of them with figures of 4/24 in 4 overs. He was ably supported by Bhuvneshwar Kumar who finished with 3/27 in 4 overs. Krunal Pandya chipped in with 2/38 in 4 overs. Josh Hazlewood was special with his miserly spell of 1/20 in 4 overs. Suyash Sharma finished with 0/34 in 4 overs. It meant RCB’s target was 147 runs in 20 overs to make it 4 wins out of 5 games and move to the top of the points table.
Virat Kohli aces the chase and helps RCB climb to top of the points table
Chasing 147 for the win, Phil Salt and Impact Player Virat Kohli came out to bat for RCB. Mohammed Shami had the ball in hand for LSG. RCB got off to a shaky start as the opening combination added 9 runs for the first wicket before Salt was cleaned up by Prince Yadav for 7 off 8 balls with one four to his name. Devdutt Padikkal came out to bat next and got off the mark next. Virat Kohli, who survived a close scare off a run out then took over. It was Virat at his best in a run chase.
Padikkal after his first ball boundary slowed down and went at run a ball. But the power play was dominated by Virat as he dominated the powerplay. He took the game away from LSG. He scored the bulk of the runs while the others were playing around him. RCB at the end of the six overs of power play were 60/1 in 6 overs. The duo of Virat and Padikkal added 57 for the second wicket before the southpaw fell for 10 off 11 balls with one boundary to his name to Avesh. Captain Rajat Patidar came out to bat next.
Kohli and Patidar added a further 20 runs to the tally as RCB reached 86/2 in 10 overs chasing 147. In the first ball of the 11th over, Virat tried to take on Avesh and but he mistimed it and was holed out at long-on by Pooran off Avesh Khan. Keeper batter Jitesh Sharma came to join Patidar in the middle as the required rate was down to almost a run a ball. Rajat and Jitesh then took the innings forward and scored quickly. The duo added a crucial 35 runs for the fourth wicket before Rajat fell for 27 off 13 balls with one four and three sixes to his name to Prince Yadav.
Tim David came out to bat next as LSG had something to cheer about. The duo could only muster one run to the tally before Jitesh fell for 23 off 9 balls with 2 fours and 2 sixes to his name to Prince Yadav. Romario Shepherd came out to bat next. The score was 122/5 in 12.4 overs. David and Shepherd provided the finishing touches to the match as the ball was hit to all parts of the ground. The duo added an unbeaten 27-runs for the 5th wicket before Jitesh fell for 27 off 13 balls with one four and two sixes to his name.
David and Shepherd played its shots and added 25 runs for the 5th wicket with David and Rutherford playing good shots. There were no hiccups in the middle overs and things got easy for RCB. The Challengers were excellent in the field. The duo added 27 runs in 15 balls for KKR. There was a great catch attempt to dismiss David but that was not to be, but it was a great effort by the fielder. The stand was unbroken as David was unbeaten on 14 off 8 balls with one four and one six to his name while Shepherd was unbeaten on 14 off 8 balls with one four and one six to his name. RCB finished with 149/5 in 15.1 overs with 5 extras given by the fielding side.
LSG had a tough outing with the ball. Prince Yadav started well and was the star of the show with his 3/32 in 3 overs. Avesh Khan was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2/23 in 4 overs. Mohammed Shami finished with 0/30 in 3 overs. Digvesh Rathi finished with 0/51 in 4 overs. George Linde finished with 0/9 in 1.1 overs. So, RCB wins this game by 5 wickets with 29 balls to spare to climb to the top in Points Table. Josh Hazlewood was adjudged the Player of the Match Award.
What Lies Ahead.Â
So, RCB gets an easy win and climbs to the top of the points table on better NRR. LSG languishing in 7th place and have some work to do going forward. RCB will host DC next in the afternoon game on Saturday in their next game while LSG also has an upcoming game. Up next, we will have MI vs PBKS tomorrow night. Let’s see how that game unfolds as MI needs a win more than PBKS at this stage. Let’s see how things work out for MI and Punjab tomorrow.
Also Read:Â RCB vs LSG: Rasikh Salam Dar & Co Bowl Out LSG For 146