The Big Three in the Royal Challengers Bangalore batting line-up came collectively to the party on Monday, burying Lucknow Super Giants under an avalanche of boundaries at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Fresh off an embarrassing loss to Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens, RCB bounced back in style through Virat Kohli (61), skipper Faf du Plessis (79 not out) and Glenn Maxwell (59), on their way to an imposing 212 for two.
Even accounting for the flat deck that facilitated unfettered stroke-making with the ball coming on nicely and hardly deviating off the seam, this was no more than an ordinary display by the LSG bowlers, who except for a brief while in the middle stages were taken apart.
Unlike in the first home game against Mumbai Indians last Sunday when du Plessis was the early aggressor, it was Kohli who took the lead. A top-edged six off Avesh Khan was just about the only false stroke by him. Unafraid to dance down the track even against the express pace of Mark Wood, Kohli had the crowd eating out of his hand, breezing to his fifty in 35 deliveries and looking set for more when, against the run of play, he carted leggie Amit Mishra to deep mid-wicket. That ended an opening salvo of 86— Kohli and du Plessis had put on 148 against Mumbai—but if Lucknow intended to build on that breakthrough, they were in for a rude shock. Du Plessis, having played second fiddle to Kohli—he was 31 off 25 when his partner was dismissed—came into his own, showcasing his power as he muscled the ball to all parts of the ground, but it was Maxwell who did the maximum damage. The Australian hasn’t had much competitive cricket for nearly six months now, but lay into the bowling with gusto.
Also read: IPL 2023: RCB hope to put Eden nightmare behind for LSG clash
Ravi Bishnoi, tidy in his first spell of 3-0-19-0, was the first to feel the fury of Maxwell’s willow as his last over went for 20, including a monstrous pull that landed on the roof for the longest six of the tournament—115 metres. Maxwell spared no one, hurtling to his half-century off just 24 balls.
By the time Maxwell fell to the penultimate delivery of the innings, he had helped his skipper add 115 in just 50 deliveries. RCB amassed 95 in the last six overs.
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