From Faf du Plessis to Glenn Maxwell: Top 3 performers for RCB against CSK

It was a contest of epic proportions at the Chinnaswamy last night that witnessed the Royal Challengers take a fine stand against the touring Super Kings in a high-scoring battle where the hosts fell short of the finish line by a meagre 8 runs.

There was a string of impressive displays in the RCB camp that was led emphatically by captain Faf du Plessis, while it was Glenn Maxwell who fought heroically to help RCB stay in the hunt. After the duo’s dismissals, cameos from Dinesh Karthik, Suyash Prabhudessai and Shahbaz Ahamad also elicited cheers from RCB fans, but it was a little too late in the end.

Here are the top three performances for the Royal Challengers Bangalore against the Chennai Super Kings:

1.    Faf du Plessis – 62 (33)

With a severely bandaged mid-section proving to be quite painful, Faf du Plessis fought through the pain to put up an important half-century. From the very onset of the chase, Faf went ballistic, taking out the bowlers like a pack of cards caught in the eye of the storm. From producing those mind-boggling maximums to ingeniously knocking around the cherry in various gaps of the field, the South African opener would prove to be a real thorn in the flesh for Chennai. It was a huge sigh of reprieve for the Chennai Super Kings when they saw their former opener depart for a 33-ball-62.

2.    Glenn Maxwell – 76 (36)

Glenn Maxwell produced his best knock of IPL 2023 so far, taking on the CSK bowlers to keep RCB well in the hunt in the challenging chase. Unperturbed by anything that came his way, Maxwell smashed three fours and eight sixes en route to his 36-ball 76, majorly playing a role in putting up a 126-run stand with Faf du Plessis.

3.    Mohammed Siraj – 1/30

On a day where the bowlers leaked runs, Mohammed Siraj was the solitary beacon of salvation with figures of 1/30 from his quota of 4 overs. Bowling against some red-hot striking from the Super Kings, Siraj kept his calm and bowled in the right areas that made the Chennai batters struggle frequently. Not only did he bowl a decent spell but that final over in the 19th bowled by him worked out wonders for RCB, keeping the total down by at least 8-10 runs more.