Faf du Plessis steers RCB to victory over Lucknow Super Giants

The South African opener scored 96 runs from 64 balls at the top of the order, batting until the penultimate ball of the innings to help his side to 181 for 6

Navi Mumbai: Royal Challengers Bangalore 181-6, Lucknow Super Giants 163-8 – Royal Challengers Bangalore won by 18 runs

Scorecard

Faf du Plessis was on form with the bat to steer Royal Challengers Bangalore to an 18-run victory over Lucknow Super Giants in Navi Mumbai.

The 37-year-old scored 96 runs from 64 balls at the top of the order, batting until the penultimate delivery of the innings to help his side to 181 for 6.

He didn’t have an ideal start to his innings, losing four partners – Anuj Rawat, Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, and Suyash Prabhudessai – in the opening eight overs as his side slipped to 62 for 4.

^{Josh Hazlewood took 4 for 25 with the ball}

However, he persevered, bringing up his half-century off 40 balls in the 14th over before smashing 46 runs off his next 24 deliveries in the company of Shahbaz Ahmed, with whom he shared a 70-run (48 balls) fifth-wicket stand, and Dinesh Karthik.

His 49-run (27 balls) partnership with the latter was brought to end off the second to last ball of the innings, with Marcus Stoinis and Jason Holder combining to complete the dismissal.

Holder was the pick of RCB’s bowlers, taking 2 for 25 from four overs.

In reply, Lucknow Super Giants lost Quinton de Kock and Manish Pandey to Josh Hazlewood inside the powerplay before KL Rahul and Krunal Pandya threatened to rebuild with an 18-ball, 31-run third-wicket stand.

However, following Rahul’s dimissal for 30 (24 balls) in the eighth over, wickets began to fall steadily and once Pandya was removed for 42 (28 balls) in the 14th over, the chase was all but over.

Lucknow closed on 163 for 8, with Hazlewood picking up 4 for 25 with the ball.