There is a new fast bowler in town! Just ask Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), who have unleashed Mayank Yadav in the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. Following his Player of the Match performance in the previous game, Mayank turned up again with figures of three for 14 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore. Thanks to that effort, LSG sealed a 28-run victory. 

Up against a target of 182, RCB started very well, courtesy of Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli. With the home crowd behind them, the openers added 40 and essayed some great shots. Kohli’s lofted shot off Naveen-ul-Haq in the fourth over stood out as it soared straight down the ground and into the fence. 

M Siddharth silenced the Bengaluru crowd in the fifth over when he found the edge off Kohli’s bat as the ball flew into Devdutt Padikkal’s hands at point. It was then that LSG decided to bring in Mayank. Off the first ball of the sixth over, du Plessis placed it towards mid-wicket and sprinted for a quick single. Padikkal ran in, picked it up and threw it at the non-striker’s end to find the RCB captain short. A couple of balls later, Glenn Maxwell was dismissed trying to pull one but only managed to lob it to mid-on. RCB had gone from 40 for no loss to 44 for three.

Post the powerplay, Cameron Green pulled one convincingly off Mayank for four through mid-on. Mayank responded with one that was fuller and angled onto the stumps. Green was beaten for pace as the ball shattered his woodwork. RCB were in huge trouble. 

𝙎𝙃𝙀𝙀𝙍 𝙋𝘼𝘾𝙀! 🔥🔥

Mayank Yadav with an absolute ripper to dismiss Cameron Green 👏

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There was some fightback from Rajat Patidar (29 off 21) with some support from Anuj Rawat. However, as the asking rate kept rising, the pressure mounted on RCB. Mayank later returned to dismiss Patidar for his third wicket, who was caught at deep square-leg while trying to pull. Towards the end, RCB held on to hope as Mahipal Lomror kept them in the hunt with some great attacking batting. He smashed his way to a 13-ball 33 before hitting one to long-off. Yash Thakur and Naveen-ul-Haq delivered crucial blows for LSG to seal victory post Mayank’s spell. 

Earlier in the day, LSG were put in to bat by RCB captain du Plessis. Their innings was largely anchored by Quinton de Kock, who signalled his intentions with a loft over cover for four and a cut through point for another in the first over bowled by Reece Topley. In the third over, he flicked Mohammad Siraj over fine-leg for the first six of the match. The next ball was also lofted over square leg for another six. 

Dual MAXIMUMS 💥💥

Super start from @LucknowIPL and Quinton de Kock!

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KL Rahul soon got into the act and smashed two sixes during his innings. In the last over of the powerplay, Rahul swept Glenn Maxwell for six but was dismissed next ball in an attempt to hit another big shot. Devdutt Padikkal followed Rahul but did not get going. He was dismissed in the ninth over when he top-edged a delivery from Siraj. Anuj Rawat ran back and took a good catch. 

In the middle overs, RCB did well to limit the damage and slow down the scoring rate.

These two are dealing in sixes 🔥🔥

Quinton de Kock 🤝 Marcus Stoinis @LucknowIPL are eyeing a huge total in Bengaluru!

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Marcus Stoinis (24 off 15 balls) hit two sixes during his stay before being dismissed by Maxwell. Through it all, de Kock held the innings together during his knock of 81 off 56 balls. He picked his opportunities to score and kept LSG in the hunt for a big score, however, when he was dismissed in the 17th over, the burden of scoring the runs fell on Nicholas Pooran. 

Pooran took the attack during the last two overs and smashed as many as five sixes in those two overs. While LSG were made to slow down a little in the middle overs, Pooran’s blitz of an unbeaten 40 off 21 balls helped take them past 180. For RCB, Glenn Maxwell was the pick of the bowlers, as he took two wickets for only 23 runs in his four overs. Yash Dayal also contributed with one for 24 in his full quota.