Lucknow Super Giants captain Rishabh Pant suffered an elbow injury during the clash against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. In the fifth over of the first innings, Pant tried to play it across against Josh Hazlewood, but failed to time it, which went on to smash his elbow. It resulted in the keeper-batter walking out with the physio and only returned after LSG lost their fifth wicket, with Ayush Badoni departing for 38 runs.
Pant’s return to the batting didn’t help LSG, though. He departed after scoring one run of six balls as LSG’s batters continue to disappoint. Meanwhile, due to the injury, Pant couldn’t field in the second innings. In his absence, Nicholas Pooran has been given the responsibility of leading the team, despite the franchise having the likes of Mitchell Marsh and Aiden Markram, who are active captains in international cricket.
LSG post 146 on board in first innings
LSG once again had a disappointing night with the bat. Aiden Markram departed for only 12, while Mitchell Marsh finally showed glimpses of his class, before departing for 40 runs off 32 balls. Pant had a night to forget, while Nicholas Pooran, who arrived at the competition with much expectations, made just one run off seven balls.
The pressure once again fell on the middle order, who tried to deliver, but strike rate always remained a concern. Ayush Badoni made 38 runs off 24 balls, while Mukul Choudhary scored 39 off 28. Abdul Samad once again flopped and it has come to a point where the team management should consider other options.
Meanwhile, for RCB, Rasikh Salam Dar had a sensational outing, claiming four wickets. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was brilliant as well, picking up three, while the returning Hazlewood was spectacular in the powerplay overs. Krunal Pandya dominated the middle overs, picking up two, as RCB managed to restrict LSG to only 146 runs in the first innings.
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