Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) registered their respective wins over Delhi Capitals (DC) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on Saturday to improve their position on the IPL 2023 Points Table. In the first match of the Saturday double-header, RCB thrashed DC in a one-sided content by 23 runs in Bengaluru to gain one spot and are placed on No 7 spot in the standings. Soon, PBKS and LSG played out a thrilling contest which was one by Punjab thanks to a brilliant match-winning effort by Shahrukh Khan.
Highlights | LSG vs PBKS, IPL 2023 Cricket Score & Updates: PBKS Win By 2 Wickets
RCB beat DC
DC captain David Warner won the toss and opted to bowl at the M Chinnaswamy stadium and backed by a Virat Kohli fifty, the home team posted 174 for 6 in 20 overs. Kohli stroked a 34-ball 50 that included 6 fours and 1six respectively. Rest of the batters struggled as RCB could manage just 174 on the board. It seeemed DC would chase it down but the Bangalore bowlers had other idead. Opener Prithvi Shaw was brilliantly run out by Anuj Rawat while Vijaykumar Vyshak and Wayne Parnell dismissed Warner and Mitchell Marsh early on in the innings to push DC on back foot in the chase.
Back to winning ways! _
Top drawer performance on the field and here we are with__ points in the _#PlayBold #____RCB #IPL2023 #RCBvDC pic.twitter.com/vxrqJUQcrp
— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) April 15, 2023
Manish Pandey struck a valiant fifty but there was no one at the other end who could smash a quickfire 30 or 40 to take DC home. As a result, DC posted their fifth consecutive loss in the tournament. The end of the match saw Kohli and Ganguly ignoring each other at the ground when the teams shook hands. A video went viral in which Kohli and Ganguly were seen not shaking hands.
Highlights | RCB vs DC, IPL 2023 Cricket Score & Updates: RCB Beat DC By 23 Runs
PBKS beat LSG
In the next match, PBKS and LSG played out a thriller. Despite KL Rahul's 56-ball 74, LSG had to suffer of defeat as critics slammed the Lucknow captain on playing with slow strike rate. The middle order of Luckow struggled as they posted a mere 159 for 8 at Ekana stadium. PBKS chased down the target with 4 balls to spare thanks to Shahrukh smashing 23 off 10 balls. Not to forget, Sikandar Raza's 41-ball 57 paved the way for the win. Raza had also picked a wicket earlier.
Good Night from S & S _ __#LSGvPBKS #JazbaHaiPunjabi #SaddaPunjab #TATAIPL pic.twitter.com/nFxla90Kjf
— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) April 15, 2023
IPL 2023 Points Table
Rajasthan Royals (RR) still sit atop the standings. LSG are second despite the loss on Saturday night followed by Gujarat Titans and PBKS.
Orange Cap and Purple Cap Leaders
Shikhar Dhawan did not play the Punjab vs Lucknow match on Saturday but he still remains the leading run scorer so far in the season with 233 runs from 4 matches followed by Warner (228 from 5 games). As far as Purple Cap is concerned, Mark Wood, with 11 wickets, has taken it from Yuzvendra Chahal (10).
