IPL 2023, RCB vs LSG | Who said what ft. Nicholas Pooran, Marcus Stoinis
Lucknow Super Giants handed RCB a heartbreaking one-wicket defeat on Monday in Match 15 of IPL 2023 at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. Chasing 213, Nicholas Pooran’s breathtaking 19-ball 62, ably assisted by Marcus Stoinis’ 30-ball 65, eventually proved clinical for LSG to script a famous victory.
After a dominating win in their IPL 2023 opener, Royal Challengers Bangalore suffered two back-to-back defeats, with the recent coming in their own backyard on Monday. In an evening where their blockbuster top three – Faf du Plessis, Virat Kohli, and Glenn Maxwell – all starred with the bat, they ended up enduring a hard-fought one-wicket loss, courtesy of individual brilliance by two of LSG’s overseas batters – Nicholas Pooran and Marcus Stoinis.
Batting first, Kohli’s 44-ball 61, du Plessis’ 46-ball 79 not out, and Maxwell’s 29-ball 59 helped RCB pile 212/2. Then, Pooran and Stoinis went berserk, and Ayush Badoni’s late 24-ball 30 guided them to take past the finishing line in a contest that can only be termed as ‘absolute madness’ due to numerous dramas, especially at the fag end.
Speaking at the post-match presentation, du Plessis credited Stoinis and Pooran for staging a spectacular show, especially for going all-out against Harshal Patel, who is one of RCB’s primary wicket-takers.
I threw all the weapons we had at them. Unfortunately, they took on one of our stronger bowlers right away, Harshal in his first two overs, but he came back well. It's a difficult place to bowl at the death, you have to be at your best.
Stoinis, meanwhile, admitted the Chinnaswamy track was, as always, helpful for the batters, and that’s why the carnage took place.
It was a beautiful pitch. I knew I had to be attacking but I also knew it was a pretty important stage of the game as well. It was nice to contribute to the team. We are a young franchise. We hadn't won a game away from home this season yet, so it's important. We're all getting on really well. That's important to get some momentum early. It's fun to hit the middle of the bat and contribute to the team.
KL Rahul, who is yet to live up to his lofty standards, highlighted his woes in IPL 2023, but at the same time, lauded how their lower order performed when neither he nor Kyle Mayers played any significant role.
Unbelievable. This is the Chinnaswamy, the 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. Not ideal for me, I want to score more runs and get the strike rate up as well.
Pooran, the Man of the Match, was delighted to pull off something extraordinary in Chinnaswamy and dedicated his stellar performance to his wife and his newborn baby.
I want to dedicate this performance to my wife and newborn. We knew that the game was on, and Stoinis and KL had a wonderful partnership. Stoinis kept us in the game and I knew this was a nice wicket. We could chase even over 50 in the last four, it was about cashing in.