The highest chase of the IPL this season was recorded by the Lucknow Super Giants, who turned things around in the final few overs
Royal Challengers Bangalore 212 for 2 (du Plessis 79*, Kohli 61, Maxwell 59, Mishra 1-18) lost to Lucknow Super Giants 213 for 9 (Stoinis 65, Pooran 62, Siraj 3-22) by one wicket.
It was a bumpy ride where the tickling tickle in the stomach never seemed to end as the coaster went up and down, left and right, and threatened to crash into a pool one moment before soaring high into the clouds the next. That’s how the game felt.
With three wickets, the Lucknow Super Giants needed four runs from the final five balls to win. Then Mark Wood was bowled. A few balls later, a tumbling Faf du Plessis nearly missed a catch but managed to make it.
Now it was 1 of 1, and you had the winning wicket. The bowler, Harshal Patel, then tried to run the non-striker out from behind but failed.
Still one-off.
The final ball behind the stumps is then juggled by Dinesh Karthik, who fails to catch it, allowing the last two Super Giants hitters to get a bye.
It’s over. Hearts were broken for the Royal Challengers Bangalore and its supporters. The Super Giants claimed a humdinger.
Stoinis start the party.
After four overs, Marcus Stoinis was dismissed for 23 for 3. Stoinis swung across the line after failing to score with his three balls. Mohammed Siraj, positioned in the middle, returned towards midwicket and missed a challenging catch.
The Super Giants’ needed batting average had reached 13 after seven overs, but Stoinis greeted Harshal with 6, 4, and 6. Karn Sharma was the next person to have the same therapy. Shahbaz Ahmed was creamed for two sixes in the subsequent over. The first reached base with a score of 50 off 25 balls. After Stoinis left for 65 out of 30 deliveries in the eleventh, Karn exacted his retribution. But only if the Royal Challengers were aware of what would happen next.
Pooran can randomly ping sixes.
As the Super Giants needed another 114 from 56 balls to reach their goal of 213, Nicholas Pooran arrived. He smacked the second ball he encountered over long-on. He was on 10 out of 5 deliveries at one time. His final score was 62 from 19. Four balls were struck for fours, while seven were smacked for sixes. Pooran’s fifty came off 15 deliveries as he played carefree, unstoppable T20 batting with the swagger, muscle, and composure of Sir Viv. Over long-on, square leg, extra cover, and fine leg, balls flew. Pooran was brutal, causing the fielders’ jaws to drop and the bowlers’ morale to be broken. When he was finally fired, the Super Giants needed only 24 points out of 18.
Impact Player Approach
Amit Mishra, introduced in the 12th over, brought the craze from Lucknow to Bangalore and struck the third ball to eliminate Virat Kohli. Glenn Maxwell hit him for four and six runs in the next two overs, leaving Mishra with two for 18. Ayush Badoni replaced him even though he was substituted relatively late. To contrast Pooran’s ferocity, Badoni led the Super Giants with a cool 30 in 24 deliveries before smashing his stumps with the bat in a follow-through after scooping the ball for six, ala Roy Fredericks in the 1975 World Cup final.
Punished by RCB for slow overrate
The Royal Challengers were penalized for continuing the game with a slow overrate. Only skipper Du Plessis received the Rs 12 lakh fine because it was their first transgression of the year.
The Super Giants’ fast Avesh Khan received a warning for a Level 1 infraction [2.2 of the IPL’s Code of Conduct].
Before starting their defense, Royal Challengers switched out legspinner Karn for Anuj Rawat, who could not bat. Karn eventually let up 48 runs in three overs, the most expensive economy ever for a bowler for the Royal Challengers (minimum three overs).
Kohli, Maxwell, and du Plessis’s 50s were in vain.
Three segments made up Royal Challengers’ inning:
- 56 runs on the powerplay
- 48 runs over the next seven
- 108 runs over the last seven
An aggressive Kohli got things going, finishing the first six overs on 42 after hitting four fours and three sixes. But the Super Giants’ spinners Krunal Pandya and Ravi Bishnoi applied the brakes, forcing his final 19 runs to come in the same number of deliveries.
Then there would be mayhem. Du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell blasted 11 sixes until the end of the inning in what ended up being a six-hitter. The final score for Du Plessis was 79, while Maxwell hammered 59 at double the rate. Royal Challengers reached a height of 212. After all, All was for nothing.
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