61 balls par not out 118 run banakar. Mitchell Marsh ke saath unhone 152 run ki zabardast partnership banayi, jisne Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) ke bowlers ko bilkul hilakar rakh diya. Ye match RCB ke liye top-two finish secure karne ke liye must-win tha, lekin Pant aur Marsh ki jodi ne unke liye raasta kaafi mushkil kar diya.
LSG ka Batting Showdown
LSG jo already playoff race se bahar ho chuki thi, bina kisi pressure ke khel rahi thi — full aazadi ke saath. Debutant Matthew Breetzke jaldi out ho gaya Nuwan Thushara ke ek perfect yorker par, lekin Pant jo no. 3 par aaye, ne Marsh ke saath milkar pura game badal diya. Pant jinka poora season flop gaya tha, is match mein puri tarah explode ho gaye — 11 chaukke aur 8 chakke lagaaye, sirf 54 balls mein century maar di. One-handed sixes aur classy cover drives dekhkar fans pagal ho gaye. Social media par log kehne lage ki Pant ne “ek teer se do nishane” laga diye — ₹27 crore ka price tag justify kiya aur RCB ke top-2 ke sapne tod diye.
Marsh ne bhi kamaal kiya — pehle thoda handle kiya aur fir 31 balls mein apna 6th fifty maar diya is season ka. 67 runs ki innings mein 4 fours aur 5 sixes thhe. Do chakke to Bhuvneshwar Kumar ko ek hi over mein lagaye. Lekin 16th over mein Bhuvi ne unka edge nikal diya aur Jitesh Sharma ne catch le liya. Pooran ne thoda cameo diya, lekin Pant ka assault chalti hi rahi. LSG ne poore innings mein 14 sixes aur 17 fours lagaye — full power game.
RCB ke Bowling ki Halat Kharab
RCB ke bowlers, khas kar Josh Hazlewood ki kami mein, totally helpless dikh rahe the. Bhuvneshwar Kumar (1/20) ne Marsh ko out kiya, lekin Pant ko rok nahi paaye. Debutant Thushara ne Breetzke ko out karke 1/26 ka decent spell diya, par Suyash Sharma aur Krunal Pandya ko LSG ne smash kar diya — dono milkar 100+ run de gaye. Romario Shepherd ka to pura band baja diya Pant ne — ek over mein do chakke maar diye. Virat Kohli se bhi ek bada misfield ho gaya. Michael Clarke aur Matthew Hayden ne fielding effort ko “sloppy” bola — kaafi embarrassing tha RCB ke standards ke hisaab se.
RCB ki Chase aur Tactical Changes
228 ka chase easy nahi tha, par RCB ne aggressive shuruaat ki — Kohli aur Phil Salt ne 4 overs mein 50 bana diye. Will O’Rourke ke ek over mein 22 run aaye — total attack mode on. Kohli ke pulls aur Salt ke drives dekhkar lag raha tha ki RCB fight degi. Lekin LSG ke bowlers jaise Avesh Khan aur O’Rourke ne middle-order ko target karna shuru kiya, especially Tim David ke injury se aur Rajat Patidar impact player ban kar aane ke baad.
Mitchell Marsh ko second innings mein substitute kar diya gaya — workload manage karne ke liye ya kisi niggle ke chalte. LSG ne ek Impact Player laaya jisse unki bowling aur tight ho gayi. Digvesh Singh aur Shahbaz Ahmed ne RCB ke top order ko challenge diya.
Match ka Context aur Impact
RCB ke liye jeet sirf top-2 nahi, balki 7 out of 7 away matches jeetne ka record bhi ban sakta tha. Agar bada margin se jeette to no.1 spot bhi possible tha. Lekin LSG ne Pant ke century se game ko unke liye nightmare bana diya. X (Twitter) par ek user ne likha: “Even God doesn’t want RCB to win” — Pant ki knock ne RCB ko shayad Eliminator tak bhej diya.
LSG ne bhale hi playoffs miss kiya ho, lekin Pant aur Marsh jaise players ne dikhaya ki team mein dum hai. Pant ka form wapas aana unke liye bhi badi baat hai, especially international games ke pehle. Marsh ke 600+ runs bhi unki consistent value dikhate hain. Dusri taraf, Kohli ek aur fifty maar kar David Warner ka 62 fifties ka record todne ke bilkul kareeb hai, aur Salt ki explosive batting RCB ke liye ab bhi ek hope hai.
Pant ke 118* aur Marsh ke 67 ne ek blockbuster IPL game create kiya — LSG ne 227/3 ka massive target diya. RCB ne acchi shuruaat ki, lekin unhe LSG ke bowling, khud ke fielding errors, aur pressure handle karna padega agar top-2 spot chahiye. Ye match IPL ka pura drama dikhata hai — redemption story, pressure moments, aur future implications. Ab dekhna ye hai ki kya RCB ka batting LSG ke fireworks ka jawab de payega, ya Pant ki knock unhe Eliminator mein bhej degi.
