Ravi Bishnoi Celebration. (Photo Source : BCCI/IPL)
The 43rd match of the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) got underway as Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) locked horns with Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow. Faf du Plessis, who made his return in the captaincy role for RCB, won the toss and opted to bat first.
RCB openers Kohli and Du Plessis delivered a steady start against LSG. RCB got their breakthrough over as the duo smashed 11 runs off all-rounder Marcus Stoinis in the second over. The batters then scored 12 runs from Naveen-ul Haq’s over, which included a six from the Proteas batter and a four from Virat. Krunal Pandya, who had to take leadership responsibilities for LSG after regular skipper KL Rahul sustained an injury early into the game, bowled an economical spell to turn the tide in favour of the home side. Barring the two overs of Stoinis and Nvaeen, LSG showed utter discipline and capitalised on the slow Lucknow pitch to successfully keep the visitors under 50 in the powerplay (42/0).
However, the openers were going well until In the ninth over, Ravi Bishnoi provided a massive breakthrough for the home side, as he dismissed the former India skipper for just 31 runs. The 34-year-old batter misjudged the delivery and ran out of the crease as keeper-batter Nicholas Pooran stumped him out. While Anuj Rawat came in and attempted to form a crucial partnership with Du Plessis, Krishnappa Gowtham provided LSG with their second breakthrough by removing the number three batter for just nine runs.
Bishnoi again came to the attack and stuck again, removing Glenn Maxwell for four. The 22-year-old bowler hit on the pads of Maxwell which the on-field umpire signalled out to reduce RCB to 80/3 after 12.4 overs.
Watch Bishnoi dismissing Virat Kohli and Glenn Maxwell
In the first fixture between both teams, RCB lost by one wicket at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. With 10 points, LSG are second in the IPL 2023 points table. RCB, on the other hand, are sixth in the table with eight points.