Shikhar Dhawan won the toss, and Punjab Kings bowled first. Sikandar Raza came in for Matt Short, and Gurnoor Brar made his debut for PBKS. KL Rahul, meanwhile, said LSG was unchanged. Less than two weeks back, Punjab Kings had aced a tricky chase of 160 against Lucknow Super Giants at the latter’s home ground.
KL Rahul got a reprieve on the first ball after Atharva Taide shelled a simple chance at backward point, denying Gurnoor Brar his first IPL wicket. Rahul sliced a length ball to Taide’s left, who failed to latch on. Meanwhile, Kyle Mayers attacked Arshdeep Singh and hit four boundaries before smoking Gurnoor for a six and a four.
KL Rahul failed to make the most of a first-ball reprieve, holing out to Shahrukh Khan at short-third for a dozen off Kagiso Rabada. Rahul had played a sumptuous drive over long-off for six on the previous ball. But Rahul’s dismissal did not deter Mayers, who smacked Sikandar Raza for two sixes and a four next over.
Mayers tonked a 20-ball half-century, his fourth of this IPL. He got there by hitting a 139 kph delivery from Kagiso Rabada for six. But having inflicted some pretty hard damage against the new ball, Mayers was caught off the penultimate ball of the PowerPlay for a 24-ball 54. LSG was 74 for two in the PowerPlay, flying at 12.3 runs per over.
Stoinis and Badoni, both promoted up the order, did not take their foot off the pedal, a run rate of 12-plus in the 12th over a testament to their commitment to sustained power-hitting. Both men struck north of 150 and added 73 off just 38 balls. Stoinis, much to Punjab’s dismay, was dropped on 38 when Livingstone caught the ball near the long-off fence but stepped on the cushion after completing the catch. However, fortuned smiled on the Englishman in the next over when he had Badoni caught for 43 off 24, breaking an 89-run stand.
Marcus Stoinis’s 40-ball 72 and Nicholas Pooran’s 19-ball 45 propelled Lucknow Super Giants to 257/5, the second-highest total in IPL history and LSG’s highest in the IPL. LSG fell just six short of equalling the highest ever IPL total made by RCB in 2013.
PBKS’ captain Shikhar Dhawan was caught off Marcus Stoinis in the first over. PBKS was 3 for one after one over. Kyle Mayers, who shared the new ball, could’ve had his first on the fourth ball of the second over when Nicholas Pooran caught a deflection off Prabhsimran Singh’s bat. It was given not out on the field, and LSG decided against going upstairs. Replays confirmed a faint nick off the inside edge.
Sikandar Raza fought hard to keep PBKS abreast with the gigantic asking rate. He had Atharva Taide for company; the stylish left-hander scoring a 26-ball 50. They had added 78 off 47 for the third wicket when Raza was finally caught for a 22-ball 36.
Atharva Taide’s belligerent innings gave PBKS faint hope of a fightback. He made 66 off 36 before miscuing an attempted slog sweep to be caught off Ravi Bishnoi. PBKS was 127 for 4 in 13 overs, needing another 131 in seven overs.
Lucknow Super Giants bowler Ravi Bishnoi removed Liam Livingstone before Naveen-ul-Haq snared Sam Curran to seal PBKS’s fate and give their team a massive NRR boost.
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