IPL 2022, RCB vs LSG: Fabulous Faf stars as Royal Challengers Bangalore beat Lucknow Super Giants

Skipper slams 96, Hazlewood scalps 4/25 as Bangalore down LSG by 18 runsWhen Royal Challengers Bangalore went for Faf du Plessis during the IPL auction earlier this year, they were not only bringing their new skipper on board but also ensuring a 600-plus run-scorer for the season. The former South Africa captain is like a bank for a franchise. Whatever his age may be, du Plessis sees to it that runs flow from his bat. AS IT HAPPENED | SCORECARD | POINTS TABLETuesday wasn't any different. Faf scratched at the start and wasn't able to get going. At the end of the Powerplay, he was batting at 15 off 17 balls. But an experienced batter like him knows the tide does turn. And, the tide turned in the 9th over when Faf smashed Marcus Stoinis for a couple of boundaries to inject some momentum in his as well as the RCB innings. After the Stoinis over, Faf got the big hits going and finished with a sparkling 96 (off 64b; 11x4, 2x6), which propelled RCB to a competitive score of 181/6 against Lucknow Super Giants at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. LSG's chase was derailed by Josh Hazlewood (4/25), who picked two wickets at the top with the new ball and then came back in the death to send back Ayush Badoni and the dangerous Marcus Stoinis (24 off 15b; 2x4, 1x6). Jason Holder (16 off 9b; 2x6) hit a couple of lusty blows towards the end, but it was too late as RCB won by 18 runs.

The only time Super Giants looked to be in some serious hunt was when skipper KL Rahul (30 off 24b; 3x4, 1x6) and the hard-hitting Krunal Pandya (42 off 28b; 5x4, 2x6) were at the crease. However, both didn't last the distance. Earlier, Faf found great support in Shahbaz Ahmed (26 off 22b; 1x4) with whom he added 70 runs for the fifth wicket in just