Faf after magical knock of 96: 'My elusive IPL hundred... I feel it is around the corner'

Skipper Faf du Plessis on Tuesday said an elusive IPL century is "around the corner" after his 96 helped Royal Challengers Bangalore beat Lucknow Super Giants by 18 runs.

The South African made Bangalore fight back with his 64-ball knock after they lost two wickets, including Virat Kohli for a golden duck, in the opening over in Mumbai.

RCB posted 181 for six, a total their bowlers - led by Australia fast bowler Josh Hazlewood - defended by restricting Lucknow to 163-8.

But the 37-year-old Du Plessis remained the hero after he put on a 70-run fifth-wicket stand with Shahbaz Ahmed, who made 26, and then a brisk 49 with the in-form Dinesh Karthik.

The former Proteas skipper missed out on a hundred after holing out off Jason Holder in the final over of the innings.

"My elusive IPL hundred... I feel it is around the corner," said man of the match Du Plessis, who equalled his previous IPL best of 96 against Punjab Kings in 2019.

"I wanted to make a big impact because the last few games had been quiet for me. I went through my own processes and blueprint for scoring runs so I had a clear mental image going into this match and I am glad that it paid off."

A well deserved Player of the Match award for @faf1307 for his excellent knock of 96 as @RCBTweets win by 18 runs.#TATAIPL #LSGvRCB pic.twitter.com/UXnrrwi0HO

Bangalore, who are searching for their maiden IPL title, moved to second in the table behind leaders Gujarat Titans. Lucknow slipped to fourth.

Hazlewood returned figures of 4-25, including the key wickets of opener Quinton de Kock for three and Marcus Stoinis, who made a 15-ball 24 before being bowled by his international team-mate in the penultimate over.

The KL Rahul-led Lucknow, who are one of two new franchises along with