Yesterday Match Result: Marsh ton powers LSG in thriller! Pant & Co. edge past RCB in rain-hit clash

LUCKNOW: Royal Challengers Bengaluru just don’t give up. In a match that looked gone within the first three overs of their chase, they fought like tigers to get it down to the last two balls. The target, 213, was an extremely tricky chase, more so after openers Virat Kohli (0) and Jacob Bethell (4) departed early. But RCB, bolstered by a few brilliant cameos by Rajat Patidar, Tim David, Romario Shepherd and Krunal Pandya, brought it down to 20 off six. Lucknow Super Giants skipper Rishabh Pant, who himself had scored a terrific 32 not out off 10 balls, gave the ball to leggie Digvesh Rathi in the last over. The spinner, against all odds, against a rampaging Shepherd and Krunal, kept his cool to win it for LSG.

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Earlier, Mitchell Marsh shone for LSG on a rainy Thursday. The Aussie opener’s fierce power, that makes him one of the most feared T20 batters, was on display as he smashed 111 off 56 balls to set up a nine-run win (DLS method) for LSG against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. The win may not help them make the playoffs but it can make RCB’s route to the last-four stage slightly complicated.

There were three rain breaks during LSG’s innings but it couldn’t stop Marsh. The power-hitter first stitched a 95-run opening stand with Arshin Kulkarni (17) before following it up with a 70-run stand with Nicholas Pooran (38). It helped LSG reach 209-3 in a game that was reduced to 19 overs.

At the Ekana ground where big scores haven’t been that easy, RCB lost the wickets of openers Jacob Bethell (4) and Virat Kohli (0) early and it was an uphill task for them thereon.

Medium-pacer Prince Yadav came up with an impressive spell, mixing his length and pace and got the wickets of Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal and Jitesh Sharma as RCB wobbled in the chase.

Patidar gave a spunky reply with 61 off 31 balls, but when left-arm spinner Shahbaz Ahmed had him caught in the deep, the game looked well and truly gone. Tim David battled, so did Shepherd and Krunal, but it wasn’t enough for the day.

The evening, though, belonged to Marsh. Holding his shape and hitting through the line, Marsh took on compatriot Hazlewood early on, smashing him for two sixes over his head before hitting three boundaries in the next over. He attacked medium-pacer Rasik Dhar too, hitting him for a couple of sixes and raced away to his half-century in 20 balls.