IPL 2023: Lucknow pays the price for playing too many dot balls against RCB

Dot balls were the overriding factor as Royal Challengers Bangalore successfully defended a small total of 126 to defeat Lucknow Super Giants by 18 runs in a low-scoring match that nonetheless provided a nail-biting finish on Monday.

RCB will doubtless take a lot of positives out of the game, especially after the defeat in the previous game against the Kolkata Knight Riders.

LSG will be wanting to immediately draw a line through the match and hope that it can avenge the defeat it suffered earlier in the IPL against Chennai Super Kings.

Skipper KL Rahul, who suffered a nasty leg injury while fielding and only came in to bat at number ten, said that the team was unable to execute their plans which made the difference between winning and losing.

Here are five talking points of the 43rd Match of a tournament that has captured world attention.

Batting first the key

RCB skipper Faf du Plessis attributed the victory to having first use of the wicket which helped them to assess the conditions well and put in place a revised game plan.

The batting strip saw less than 250 runs scored in total as spin bowlers dominated most of the action, with the exception being returning pace bowler Josh Hazlewood who captured two wickets for just 15 runs in his three overs.

Glenn Maxwell, Wanindu Hasaranga, and Karn Sharma who bowled the middle overs were able to take control of the match for RCB with a disciplined and orthodox approach that spinners are known to use in conditions that suit.

Dot balls

LSG, who was hoping to continue from where it left off against Punjab Kings on Sunday where it posted a massive total of 257 for five during its 56-run victory, was unable to find any rhythm.

As many as 66 dot balls. equivalent to 11 scoreless overs, was the root of the problem of a team who possesses the depth in batting that likes to dominate the ball.

In trouble from the go

A target of 126 would have been a pushover on most tracks but not at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow. With a 200-plus target being reached 23 times in the IPL a low-scoring contest was in stark contrast to the trend. Before they knew it Lucknow was against the ropes having lost four batters for just 27 runs in the power play.

The partnership that looked like it could take the home team closer to victory was forged by Marcus Stoinis (13 from 19) and Krishnappa Gowtham (29 from 13) but it was not to be. Once the Aussie was dismissed in the 11th over, the writing was on the wall.

Good toss to win

Man-of-the-match: Faf Du Plessis