"I told him, 'Hey Sid, you reckon you can get Virat for us?' He said, 'Yes, sir'" - Langer on how Siddharth came through in LSG vs RCB IPL 2024 clashÂ
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) spinner Manimaran Siddharth played a huge role in his side's 28-run win over the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Tuesday, April 2.
The left-arm spinner was handed the task of dealing with RCB openers Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis in the powerplay. Playing only his second IPL match, the youngster introduced control straightaway, but was taken on in his second over of the spell.
LSG skipper KL Rahul made a huge decision to hand Siddharth a third consecutive over in the powerplay. He was hit for a boundary by Kohli off the very first ball, but LSG got their planned breakthrough next delivery itself as the matchup worked.
After firing in most of his deliveries, Siddharth had slowed one up, forcing Kohli to draw out. The ball hit the outer half of the bat and was caught by Devdutt Padikkal at point.
Following the contest, LSG head coach Justin Langer shed light on how the dismissal was plotted in the leadup to the match itself.
"The first thing that comes out of my mouth to M Siddharth, never spoken to him before, I saw him bowl an arm ball, and I said "Hey, Sid. You reckon you can get Virat out for us?', He then goes, 'Yes, sir.' And what do you know, he does get him out!" he stated.
Banking on Kohli and du Plessis' fondness for pace early on and their poor record against left-arm spin, KL Rahul had brought on M Siddharth and Krunal Pandya from either end with the new ball to start things off in the second innings.
"Very obvious match-up against RCB which worked" - KL Rahul on using M Siddharth and Krunal Pandya in the powerplay
LSG had the perfect powerplay while trying to defend 182 away from home. Inside the first six overs, the trio of Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis, and Maxwell were back in the pavilion with the score reading 48-3.
LSG made the most of the momentum to rule the middle overs as well to reduce the hosts to 104-6. KL Rahul and co. recorded their second successive win even though RCB stages a late fightback through impact player Mahipal Lomror.
"Powerplay bowling has always been a question mark for us in the two seasons that we have played, trying to fix that. We've gone spin this game, very obvious match-up against RCB which worked. We'll try to find ways to get those wickets in the powerplay," Rahul said during the post-match presentation
LSG are scheduled to face the Gujarat Titans (GT) next at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow on Sunday, April 7.