FAF du Plessis composed a superlative 64-ball 96 to lead from the front, while Josh Hazlewood bagged an IPL career-best four-for as Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) downed Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) by 18 runs in Mumbai.

It wasn’t all smooth sailing for RCB as early strikes had left them precariously placed at 7 for 2. Both Avesh Khan and Dushmantha Chameera used the hint of grass cover to their advantage and banged the pitch hard to cause a few problems up front.

Chameera also was rewarded for his efforts, – dismissing Anuj Rawat and Virat Kohli off successive deliveries. Rawat was dislodged on the back of an excellent catch by KL Rahul at mid-off. Kohli then guided a back of a length delivery that hit high up on his bat to backward point.

For a while Glenn Maxwell played with his trademark sense of adventure to put the pressure back on LSG. In the 3rd over, he drove through the covers, whipped and pulled Chameera to push RCB’s run-rate close to 10.

Just when Maxwell looked set to hit top gear, he fell to Krunal Pandya. The explosive batter attempted a reverse sweep but couldn’t beat the fielder at short third man with Jason Holder using his long levers to pluck a fine catch.

du Plessis reached his 50 off 40 balls and despite losing Shahbaz, he continued rotation of strike with shots to push the scoring rate. In the 15th over, he smacked Krunal for a six and a four. He also took on Bishnoi by thwacking him for a couple of boundaries in the 18th over, with the leg-spinner returning figures of 0 for 47 from 4. At the other end, Dinesh Karthik lifted Avesh over long-off for a six.

Ultimately, du Plessis fell four short of a hundred in the last over when he holed out to deep backward square leg off Holder.

With the track offering a hint of tennis ball bounce, alongside the dew not being a factor, RCB bowlers had a good chance of defending the target. Hazlewood made the early incision when he dislodged Quinton de Kock with the one that nipped away off the seam.

The tall paceman also sent Manish Pandey back to the hut. Harshal Patel then bagged the prized scalp of KL Rahul, with the LSG skipper being dismissed via a strangle down leg. The initial decision was not out but RCB overturned it via the review system.

Krunal (42) and Marcus Stoinis (24) offered some hope to LSG but it wasn’t to be as RCB won their fifth game of the IPL season. Now RCB have jumped up to second spot with 10 points on the table. (Cricbuzz)