Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) beat Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) by five wickets in their IPL match on Wednesday, with their bowlers setting up the win before the batters completed the chase.The pace trio of Rasikh Salam Dar (4/24), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (3/27) and Josh Hazlewood (1/20) restricted LSG to 146. Hazlewood’s spell with the new ball played a key role as LSG managed only 35 for one in the Power Play. He also dismissed Nicholas Pooran, who dragged the ball onto his stumps.LSG captain Rishabh Pant had to retire hurt on zero after being hit on his left elbow by Hazlewood. He later returned to bat briefly when the team was struggling at 118 for five.
Pant did not keep wickets during RCB’s innings, with Mukul Choudhary taking over that role.In the chase of 147, Virat Kohli gave RCB a quick start, scoring 49 off 34 balls. He hit four boundaries in an over from Prince Yadav and added 57 runs for the second wicket with Devdutt Padikkal, who scored 10. Kohli was dismissed on 49, caught by Pooran off Avesh Khan at long-on.Captain Rajat Patidar scored 27 and hit boundaries off Mohammed Shami and Prince Yadav to keep the chase on track. Jitesh Sharma also added quick runs before getting out.RCB reached 149 for five in 15.1 overs to complete the chase. With this win, RCB are back at the top of the points table with 8 points in five games. They will now face the Delhi Capitals (DC) at the same venue on Saturday.
