RCB vs LSG IPL 2023: Lucknow Super Giants clinched a heart-stopper against Royal Challengers Bangalore at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru when they defeated them in a nail-biter by 1 wicket. LSG held their nerves in a thrilling encounter against RCB as they chased down a total of 213 runs on the final ball.
LSG's tail-enders helped them secure a nail-biting victory after Nicholas Pooran, Marcus Stoinis, and Ayush Badoni brought them at the door of a win. Notably, this is LSG's highest chase ever in IPL. Before this game, their highest chase was 211/4 against CSK in 2022.
As early wickets fell, Rahul held one end and tried that his side did not lose further batters. However, with Stoinis hitting the ball sweetly, Rahul's slow strike rate was put under the scanner. But the LSG captain defended his innings. “If I score more runs, the strike rate will go up. I looked at the situation and I feel I had done the right thing. Hopefully, with a couple of good knocks the strike rate will go up,” Rahul said, following LSG’s one-wicket win. Meanwhile, the LSG captain ended up defending his inexplicable 18 runs on 20 balls.
The left-handed West Indies batsman Nicholas Pooran scored 62 runs on 19-ball and completed his half-century in just 15 balls, which is the joint second fastest half- century. This was a huge jump for LSG in the chase of 213 runs against RCB in the 15th match of the tournament. Rahul has often been criticised for his poor strike rate in the recent times.
Rahul further added, “If you look at the middle order, No. 5, 6 and 7, they win you the crunch games. The top order will get the bulk of runs but it’s those positions that matter and that’s why we invested in power in Pooran, Stoinis and Badoni. And Badoni is learning to finish games.”
Meanwhile as LSG found a way to win the encounter, they are now on top of the points table in IPL 2023. Meanwhile, RCB are on 7th with 1 win from 3 games.
