Rasikh Dar's 4-wicket haul dismantles LSG as RCB restrict them to 146

Coming to bat after losing the toss, LSG endured a sluggish start as openers Mitchell Marsh and Aiden Markram found it difficult to score freely against the disciplined new-ball spell from Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood. The duo crawled to 14/0 after two overs.

Marsh broke the shackles in the third over with a towering 102-metre six off Bhuvneshwar, while Markram followed it up with a maximum in the next over. However, Markram's brief stay ended on the final ball of that over, as he mistimed a slower delivery from Rasikh Salam Dar and was caught by Devdutt Padikkal for 12 (8).

LSG suffered a major setback soon after when captain Rishabh Pant injured his elbow and had to walk off after facing just three deliveries. Nicholas Pooran, who came in next, failed to make an impact and was clean bowled by Hazlewood in the seventh over.

Amid the early setbacks, Marsh steadied the innings alongside Ayush Badoni, with the pair adding a quick 36 runs off 22 balls. The partnership was broken in the 10th over when Krunal Pandya bowled Marsh with a fuller delivery. Marsh top-scored with 40 off 32 balls, including three fours and two sixes.

Krunal struck again in his next over to dismiss Abdul Samad for a duck, putting LSG further on the back foot.

Badoni then attempted to anchor the innings, combining with youngster Mukul Choudhary to rebuild the innings with sensible strike rotation and occasional boundaries. However, the stand was broken in the 16th over when Badoni edged a short, slower ball from Rasikh to the wicketkeeper after scoring 38 off 24 balls.

Pant returned to bat later but struggled for rhythm and was dismissed for just one run in the 17th over. Mukul continued to fight at the other end, scoring 39 off 28 balls, but wickets kept falling regularly. He was eventually bowled by Rasikh in the final over as LSG were bowled out for 146.

Among the bowlers, Rasikh was the standout performer with four wickets, while Bhuvneshwar claimed three. Hazlewood delivered an economical spell of 1/20 in his four overs, playing a key role in restricting the opposition.

Brief Scores: Lucknow Super Giants 146/10 in 20 overs (Mitchell Marsh 40, Mukul Choudhary 39; Rasikh Dar 4-24, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 3-27 ) against Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

- IANS