Krunal Pandya: We did pretty well in the first half restricting them. It was a great team effort. Really happy with how we have bowled this tournament. 126, at the start of the game, we would have taken. But we just could not execute our plans. (On Rahul’s injury) It is a sad thing. He pulled his hip flexor, I guess. I do not know how bad it is. The medical team will assess it.
Faf du Plessis is the Player of the Match: (On the surface) Complete opposites (comparing it to Bengaluru). To have a fifty partnership in the first six overs was a match-winning partnership in the end. (Decision to bat first) Batting first was important. They had four spinners but it looked like right through, playing spin was hard work. It is a little bit easier for a captain, at the Chinnaswamy, it feels like the ball is going everywhere (smiles). I would have liked 135. In my mind, that was a really good score and we were going towards that score.
Once again, if you come in on this pitch, it is really tough to score. Said to the boys that if we get two or three early wickets, it would be hard for them. I am super happy for Karn. One of those guys who does the hard work all the time but does not get the recognition. Playing at Chinnaswamy is tough for a leg-spinner. Unbelievable from him tonight. We have missed Hazlewood’s experience. Someone like him brings so much calmness and composure. Nice way to ease him into the competition.
Lucknow Super Giants vs Royal Challengers Bangalore Highlights today, Monday 1-5-2023. 43rd Match (N), Indian Premier League 2023, Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow.
Toss: RCB will bat first.
Lucknow Super Giants team: KL Rahul (c), Kyle Mayers, Deepak Hooda, Marcus Stoinis, Krunal Pandya, Nicholas Pooran (wk), K Gowtham, Naveen-ul-Haq, Ravi Bishnoi, Amit Mishra, Yash Thakur
Royal Challengers Bangalore team: Faf du Plessis (c), Virat Kohli, Anuj Rawat, Glenn Maxwell, Mahipal Lomror, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Suyash Prabhudessai, Wanindu Hasaranga, Karn Sharma, Josh Hazlewood, Mohammed Siraj
Head to Head In T20’s: 3
Lucknow Super Giants Won: 1
Royal Challengers Bangalore Won: 2
Form guide
(last five completed Matches, most recent first)
Lucknow Super Giants WLWLW
Royal Challengers Bangalore LWWLW
Match Timings: 2:00 PM GMT | 7:30 PM Local
Umpires – Anil Chaudhary, Sadashiv Iyer
TV Umpire – Nand Kishore
Match Referee – Prakash Bhatt
Reserve Umpire – Mohit Krishnadas
Match number – IPL 2023 – 43rd Match
IPL Points Table
Pitch and weather: Dew hasn’t had much of an effect so far in Lucknow, and it’s unlikely to change come Monday. Surfaces have been slow and have aided turn. Spinners will yet again have a massive say. RCB would gladly welcome the prospect of bowling to much bigger boundaries. There is also some rain predicted for Monday.
