Stoinis, Pooran star in LSG’s incredible one-wicket win over RCB

Tags: Indian T20 League 2023, Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Lucknow Super Giants, 15th Match at Bengaluru, Apr 10, 2023, Lucknow XI, Bangalore XI

Published on: Apr 11, 2023

Scorecard | Commentary | Graphs

Marcus Stoinis (65 off 30) and Nicholas Pooran (62 off 19) played excellent knocks as Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by one wicket in match number 15 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

In a high-scoring game, RCB batted first and put up 212/2 on the board in their 20 overs. LSG chased down the total off the last ball with only one wicket in hand in what was an incredible finish to the game. Avesh Khan and Ravi Bishnoi scampered a bye as Dinesh Karthik failed to collect the ball cleanly after Avesh missed his slog off Harshal Patel.

Sent into bat after losing the toss, Bangalore were guided to a good score courtesy of half-centuries from Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell. Kohli struck 61 off 44 balls with the aid of four fours and as many sixes. Du Plessis contributed an unbeaten 79 off 46 balls, hitting five fours and an equal number of sixes. Maxwell scored 59 of 29 with three fours and six sixes.

In the chase, Mohammed Siraj knocked over Kyle Mayers for a duck, while Wayne Parnell accounted for Deepak Hooda (9) and Krunal Pandya (0). KL Rahul also fell to Siraj for 18 off 20. Marcus Stoinis (65 off 30) and Nicholas Pooran (62 off 19) played incredible knocks to keep LSG in the game. A cameo off 30 from Impact Player Ayush Badoni helped while the tail hung in to take the team past the winning line.

While Stoinis hit six fours and five sixes in his wonderful knock, Pooran clubbed four fours and seven sixes. He also broke the record for the fastest fifty of the season - 15 balls. There was plenty of drama towards the end as RCB fought back. Harshal Patel even claimed two wickets in the last over, but LSG had enough fuel in the tank to get over the line.

Speaking after the incredible finish, Rahul said, “Unbelievable. This is the Chinnaswamy, only venue where so many last-ball finishes are possible. From the position we were in, to end up winning it, is superb. We had to go hard and the ball swung early, and they got 2-3 wickets to put the pressure on us. The only reason we got two points today is for the way the lower order batted.”

Admitting his batting was not up to the mark, Rahul added, “Not ideal for me, I want to score more runs and get the strike rate up as well. We've played on two tough Lucknow wickets, and today we lost 3 wickets so I went slower. I wanted to stay till the end and play with Nicky. Batting 5 ,6, 7 is the toughest positions to play and that's where games are won and lost.”

--By A Cricket Correspondent

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