IPL 2023: Pooran's blazing fifty, dramatic finish and other top moments from LSG's thrilling win over RCB

Apr 11, 2023 - 04:30

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IPL 2023: Pooran's blazing fifty, dramatic finish and other top moments from LSG's thrilling win over RCB

‘Tis the season of last-ball thrillers as far as the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) is concerned as Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) held their nerve to come out on top after a see-saw battle against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Bengaluru on Monday.

This was just one day after Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) pulled off a three-wicket victory over defending champions Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad thanks to Rinku Singh’s five consecutive sixes off Yash Dayal in the final over.

This time around it was Lucknow’s middle-order that came to the rescue after they were reduced to 23/3 in the powerplay chasing 213 to win. And ultimately it came down to the tail-enders holding their nerve after a couple of last-minute twists to get their team over the line in the most dramatic fashion, clinching one of the most memorable chases in the history of the cash-rich league.

Read | ‘IPL at its best’ — Twitterati react to LSG’s dramatic win over RCB

Looking back at the events of the 15th match of the season, we bring to you five standout moments:

RCB top-order make merry

The M Chinnaswamy Stadium is a heaven for batters and the RCB top-order trio of skipper Faf du Plessis, Virat Kohli and Glenn Maxwell sure did get the memo, each of them scoring a half-century to propel the Royal Challengers to a challenging total in excess of 200.

Virat Kohli raises his bat in celebration after bringing up his second half-century in three games in IPL 2023 during RCB’s home game against LSG. Sportzpics

Both Du Plessis and Kohli scored a second consecutive boundary at the Chinnaswamy, having done so in a winning cause against Mumbai Indians the previous weekend. And Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell, who only recently returned to action after a long injury layoff due to a freak leg-injury, who the most destructive of the trio — smashing 59 at a strike rate of over 200.

At the time, it sure did appear a winning total despite the fact that Lucknow too were filled to the brim with match-winners.

Faf’s monster hit out of the park

Among the more memorable moments during Bangalore’s innings was skipper du Plessis smashing the ball out of the park in a monster 115-metre hit — the biggest of the season so far. Du Plessis hadn’t hit a single six until the 15th over, in which he dispatched the LSG leg-spinner for consecutive maximums.