IPL 2023, LSG vs RCB | Who said what ft. Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis

SportsCafe Desk

BySportsCafe Desk, SportsCafe Editor

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Lucknow Super Giants faltered in a small run chase yet again at the Ekana Cricket Stadium as they failed to get to 127 in the absence of their skipper KL Rahul. The win saw Royal Challengers Bangalore go level on points with their rivals and are now placed fifth, two spots below LSG due to NRR.

Lucknow Super Giants endured their fourth loss of the campaign on Monday as they continued to struggle with the slow and dry track at their home stadium. The side was clinical with the ball, Naveen ul Haq being the difference-maker with a three-wicket haul, but a valiant top-order effort ensured the visitors got to a competitive total of 127. However, the hosts were handed a big blow when KL Rahul walked off the field in the first injury after injuring his leg during fielding and only turned up to bat as the last man, facing three deliveries unbeaten as his side ended up 18 runs short of the target.

Stand-in LSG skipper Krunal Pandya commended his bowlers before acknowledging the obvious flaws in their batting performance.   

We did pretty well restricting them to a total of 126. It was a great bowling effort overall. Really happy with the way bowlers have done this year. We would have taken 126 but the batting department failed to execute 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.

Krunal pandya

RCB captain and man-of-the-match Faf Du Plessis noted how stability early on was the key in his team's performance, as he shared a 54-ball 62-run opening stand with Virat Kohli (31 off 30 balls) en route to his 44. The Protean also admitted to enjoying the passionate version of Virat Kohli on full display during the match, including exaggerated and animated celebrations for every wicket.

A contrast of what happened at the Chinnaswamy. We played really well in the first six overs and got a steady start. To have a fifty partnership in the six overs was match-changing. It was a good toss to win and batting first was important... Before we went on the field, we said to the guys it's a match-winning score and we can do it. Felt if we early wickets in the powerplay, especially with KL not being there, it's going to be difficult... That's the best version of Virat, isn't it? To see him pumped up like that. That's when he's at his best. It's really awesome to be a part of it. My job is to keep things calm on the field, which I thought we did really well.

Faf du Plessis

Kohli himself was seen in the dressing room after the game dancing about and congratulating his troops following heated altercations with Gautam Gambhir and Naveen ul Haq before the RCB batter and LSG pacer uploaded cryptic stories on their Instagram.

That's a sweet win boys. A sweet win. If you can give it, you got to take it. Otherwise don't give it... It was a really important win for us. The fact that we got more support from the home crowd is an unbelievable feeling. It tells you all about how much we are liked as a team and how people come out and back us. It's a very sweet win. Feels very good for many reasons but most importantly for the kind of character we showed defending that total. I think everyone had the belief that we could do it and we were on the winning side which is great.

Virat Kohli





Virat after the match!

The war begins!

Retaliation as expected 

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