Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) beat Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) by 18 runs in yesterday’s (May 1) Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 match at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow.

In a low-scoring game that was marred by ugly post-match scenes as a spat between Virat Kohli and Naveen-ul-Haq took center stage, RCB posted 126/9 after winning the toss and opting to bat first. On a sluggish surface, LSG crawled to 108 in 19.5 overs as injured KL Rahul came out to bat at No. 11.

Lucknow got off to a disappointing start as Kyle Mayers (0) completely miscued an attempted big hit off Mohammed Siraj. The dismissal set the tone for the chase as LSG were never in the hunt after that.

Krunal Pandya (14 off 11) chipped a catch to long-off off Glenn Maxwell’s bowling. Lucknow slipped to 21/3 as Ayush Badoni (4) sliced a catch towards extra cover off Josh Hazlewood, playing in his first match of the edition.

There was no change in fortunes for the out-of-sorts Deepak Hooda (1), who was stumped off Wanindu Hasaranga’s bowling. Karn Sharma then took out both of LSG’s dangerous big hitters - Nicholas Pooran (9) and Marcus Stoinis (13).

The wickets kept tumbling and Rahul, who had hurt himself badly after slipping during a fielding attempt, walked out to bat as the last man by when the match was out of LSG’s grasp.

LSG bowlers restrict RCB to 126/9 on a tough batting surface

Naveen-ul-Haq (3/30), Ravi Bishnoi (2/21) and Amit Mishra (2/21) starred with the ball as LSG held RCB to 126/9 after losing the toss and bowling first. Faf du Plessis (44 off 40) and Virat Kohli (31 off 30) again got the team off to a solid start, adding 62 in nine overs.

The opening stand was broken when Kohli was stumped off Bishnoi’s bowling. Anuj Rawat (9) then holed out to deep midwicket off Krishnappa Gowtham. Maxwell (4) fell to Bishnoi, attempting his favorite reverse hit against the leggie. Suyash Prabhudessai (6) also perished cheaply to Mishra, but RCB suffered a bigger blow when Du Plessis sliced a tossed-up delivery from the bowler to cover.

Bangalore’s innings lost steam after their skipper’s departure as Naveen-ul-Haq ran through the lower order.