Mumbai, Apr 19 (IANS): A terrific knock by skipper Faf du Plessis (96 off 64) guided Royal Challengers Bangalore to 181-6 against Lucknow Super Giants in an IPL 2022 match at the D.Y Patil Stadium, here on Tuesday.

Invited to bat first, RCB were off to a terrible start as they lost three wickets -- Anuj Rawat (4), Virat Kohli (0) and Glenn Maxwell (23) inside the powerplay.

At 44-3 after 5.2 overs, RCB were in a spot of bother but Faf du Plessis led from the front and stayed till the last over.

He stitched a crucial 70-run stand for the fifth wicket with Shahbaz Ahmed (26) and a 49-run partnership with Dinesh Karthik (13 not out off 8) for the sixth wicket, helping RCB post a competitive total in stipulated 20 overs.

Jason Holder (2/25) and Dushmantha Chameera (2/31) picked two wickets each while Krunal Pandya (1/29) got one wicket for Lucknow.

Brief scores: Royal Challengers Bangalore 181/6 in 20 overs (Faf du Plessis 96, Shahbaz Ahmed 26; Jason Holder 2/25) vs Lucknow Super Giants.