Faf du Plessis equals his highest IPL score to power Bangalore to a thumping win

Glenn Maxwell records a special milestone

The game against the Lucknow Super Giants was indeed a special one for Glenn Maxwell as he became only the second Australian player to play 350 matches in the shortest format of the game. After plying his trade at various franchise leagues around the world and the national side, the 33-year old has been one of the most destructive players in this format and an integral part of the Men in Red.

Daniel Christian, who also played for the Royal Challengers Bangalore, is on top of the list with 379 matches.

Virat Kohli's dismal outing

One of the talking points in this edition of the tournament has been the form of Virat Kohli. With the top order struggling for runs, all eyes were on the former skipper as he walked in the first over after the dismissal of Anuj Rawat. 

However, the right-handed batter was caught at backward point for a golden duck, making it only the fifth instance of him being dismissed for a first-ball duck. The last time he endured a similar outing was back in April 2017 against the Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens. 

Skipper leads from the front

With the team tottering at 44 for the loss of three wickets, Faf du Plessis played one of the most remarkable innings in this edition of the extravaganza to propel the side to 181 runs in the first innings. The 37-year old steadied the innings by accumulating the ones and the two to keep the scoreboard ticking before launching an attack in the back end of the innings.

Displaying an array of strikes all around the ground, the right-handed batter smashed 96 runs, equalling highest ever score in the competition to lay a solid foundation for the side. En route to his masterclass, he also became the second South African player to record 50 fifty-plus scores in the shortest format of the game. AB de Villiers is on top of this list with 73 scores above the 50-run mark.

Ravi Bishnoi endures a day to forget 

While the skipper of the Challengers had a magical day on the field, there was a young leg spinner who was at the receiving end of his heroics. Ravi Bishnoi is having a tough start to this season and endured a day to forget as he conceded 47 runs in his quota of four overs without scalping a wicket, which is the worst spell for him in the tournament.

The last time he had a similar outing was in 2021 against the Delhi Capitals at Ahmedabad, where he conceded 42 runs in his four-over spell. 

KL Rahul breaches the 6k mount 

The skipper of the Lucknow outfit, KL Rahul, has been in sublime form in this edition of the tournament. After notching up a century in his 100th IPL match, the right-handed batter started this innings in a sublime fashion scoring 30 off 24 deliveries studded with three boundaries and one maximum. 

En route to his knock at the top of the order, the 30-year old became the fastest Indian player to amass 6000 runs in the shortest format of the game. While Rahul achieved this milestone in 166 innings, which is 17 innings quicker than Virat Kohli, who is second at 183 innings.

Josh Hazlewood wreaks havoc

Josh Hazlewood has been one of the standout performers for the Bangalore outfit this season. While he missed a couple of games due to national duty, the right arm pacer has made an immediate impact in the tournament with his exploits in the powerplay. 

The 31-year old scalped the wicket of Quinton de Kock and Manish Pandey inside the field restrictions to dent the Super Giants with twin blows early in the run chase. 

Assigned the task of bowling at the death, he picked up the wickets of Ayush Badoni and Marcus Stonis to finish with figures of four for 25 in his four overs. With best figures for him in the IPL, he helped the team get over the line in this high-voltage clash.