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IPL 2023: Pooran's blazing fifty, dramatic finish and other top moments from LSG's thrilling win over RCB

‘Tis the season of last-ball thrillers as far as the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) is concerned as Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) held their nerve to come out on top after a see-saw battle against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Bengaluru on Monday.

IPL 2023: Full coverage | Points table | Schedule | Results | Orange Cap | Purple Cap​

This was just one day after Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) pulled off a three-wicket victory over defending champions Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad thanks to Rinku Singh’s five consecutive sixes off Yash Dayal in the final over.

This time around it was Lucknow’s middle-order that came to the rescue after they were reduced to 23/3 in the powerplay chasing 213 to win. And ultimately it came down to the tail-enders holding their nerve after a couple of last-minute twists to get their team over the line in the most dramatic fashion, clinching one of the most memorable chases in the history of the cash-rich league.

Read | ‘IPL at its best’ — Twitterati react to LSG’s dramatic win over RCB

Looking back at the events of the 15th match of the season, we bring to you five standout moments:

RCB top-order make merry

The M Chinnaswamy Stadium is a heaven for batters and the RCB top-order trio of skipper Faf du Plessis, Virat Kohli and Glenn Maxwell sure did get the memo, each of them scoring a half-century to propel the Royal Challengers to a challenging total in excess of 200.

Virat Kohli raises his bat in celebration after bringing up his second half-century in three games in IPL 2023 during RCB’s home game against LSG. Sportzpics

Both Du Plessis and Kohli scored a second consecutive boundary at the Chinnaswamy, having done so in a winning cause against Mumbai Indians the previous weekend. And Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell, who only recently returned to action after a long injury layoff due to a freak leg-injury, who the most destructive of the trio — smashing 59 at a strike rate of over 200.

At the time, it sure did appear a winning total despite the fact that Lucknow too were filled to the brim with match-winners.

Faf’s monster hit out of the park 

Among the more memorable moments during Bangalore’s innings was skipper du Plessis smashing the ball out of the park in a monster 115-metre hit — the biggest of the season so far. Du Plessis hadn’t hit a single six until the 15th over, in which he dispatched the LSG leg-spinner for consecutive maximums.

While the South African, who was beginning to shift gears after Kohli’s dismissal, went inside out over mid off in the first one, he got down on one knee and absolutely smoked the ball out of the stadium the very next delivery.

Stoinis pulls Lucknow out of trouble

Lucknow got off to the worst-possible start after being set 213 to win. Kyle Mayers, who had blasted a memorable 73 against Delhi Capitals at the start of the season, chopped the ball onto the stumps to depart for a three-ball duck. That was before Wayne Parnell bowled a dream first over of the season by getting both Deepak Hooda and Krunal Pandya caught-behind. At 23/3 in the fourth over, the game appeared as good as over.

LSG all-rounder Marcus Stoinis bats against RCB at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Sportzpics

Marcus Stoinis though, had other plans. While skipper KL Rahul was struggling to time the ball and collect boundaries, the Australian all-rounder was collecting fours and sixes with ease as he raced to his half-century in just 25 balls and contributed 65 in a 76-run fourth-wicket stand that brought Lucknow back on its feet.

Pooran’s blazing fifty puts LSG in the driver’s seat

Marcus Stoinis’ game-changing knock would’ve been the highlight of the day by a fair distance had Nicholas Pooran not walked out to bat and produce one of the most extraordinary knocks ever witnessed in the T20 format. Stoinis’ innings would bring Lucknow back in the hunt; Pooran’s would put them in the driver’s seat, a position from where they could’ve waltzed their way past the finish line had it not been for the last-minute drama.

Pooran appeared unstoppable in the middle overs, with opposition skipper du Plessis growing increasingly desperate with each sweetly-timed hit out of the park as the West Indian raced to his half-century in just 15 deliveries — the fastest of the season and the second-quickest ever in IPL history. He was particularly harsh on Karn Sharma, whom he smashed for a six in the second delivery and collected back-to-back maximums in his third over that went for 20 runs.

Pooran would’ve fancied getting his team over the line all by himself until his dismissal off a high full toss from Siraj that he believed should’ve been called a no-ball put paid to those plans. Shahbaz Ahmed plucked an easy catch at deep backward square leg as Pooran departed for a 19-ball 62, adding 84 off just 35 balls in an extraordinary sixth-wicket partnership.

Lucknow survive a tense finish

Pooran’s dismissal did complicate things a bit for Lucknow. Ayush Badoni stuck around for a while longer, collecting a boundary off Parnell in the third delivery of the penultimate over before hitting the stump with his bat while going for a ramp to be adjudged Hit Wicket. Harshal Patel was left to defend five from six after a 10-run penultimate over from Parnell that included two wides.

Lucknow Super Giants’ Ayush Badoni, who came in as an Impact Player, reacts after getting dismissed HIt Wicket in the penultimate over of the chase against Royal Challengers Bangalore. Sportzpics

Patel once again highlighted his death-bowling temperament and why he is considered an asset in this phase of the game as he castled Mark Wood off the second ball. Bishnoi, who pinched a single off the first ball, grabbed a brace and a single off the third and fourth deliveries respectively to level the scores.

Unadkat was caught by du Plessis at long on while trying to finish things off in style. Avesh Khan was on strike for the final delivery when Harshal pulled out of his delivery stride in the last fraction of a second and tried to run Bishnoi out at the non-striker’s end for backing up too much. Harshal missed the stumps, though it wouldn’t have counted as he had already reached the point where he normally would’ve released the ball, according to Law 38.3.1.2.

And then came the most dramatic moment of them all — Avesh dashing for the non-striker’s end after missing the ball completely, with keeper Dinesh Karthik costing RCB the game with a fumble while attempting to collect the ball. Both Bishnoi and Avesh had made their ground by the time Karthik threw the ball towards the non-striker’s end, leading to some wild celebrations at the centre as a pall of gloom descended on the stands at the Chinnaswamy.

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