Riding on debutant pacer Mayank Yadav's fiery spell, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) defeated Punjab Kings (PBKS) by 21 runs on Saturday, 30 March at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow.
Despite a 70-run knock off 50 balls by PBKS skipper Shikhar Dhawan, the Giants came on top to secure their first win of the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL).
Dhawan & Bairstow's Robust Partnership, Mayank's Fiery Spell
In pursuit of a target of 200, skipper Shikhar Dhawan (70 off 49) and Jonny Bairstow formed a formidable partnership, amassing 102 runs between them to ignite the visitors' innings.
Bairstow crafted a brisk 42 off just 29 deliveries, laced with three towering sixes and an equal number of boundaries. However, his aggressive intent met its end when a delivery from Mayank Yadav found its way into the safe hands of Marcus Stoinis, stationed at deep mid-wicket, as Bairstow mistimed his attempted pull shot.
PBKS captain Shikhar Dhawan scored 70 runs off 50 balls.
Image: PTI
Punjab then introduced Prabhsimran Singh as an impact substitute, who provided a brief spark with a cameo of 19 runs off a mere 7 balls, embellished with two sixes and a boundary. His stay at the crease was curtailed by Mayank Yadav, claiming his second victim of the evening.
Mayank, making an impressive debut, further asserted his dominance by securing his third dismissal, this time deceiving wicketkeeper-batsman Jitesh Sharma (7 off 9) in a similar manner of Bairstow's departure. Naveen-ul-Haq played his part in the proceedings by safely taking the catch near the mid-wicket boundary.
The pacer finished his spell of 4 overs with a figure of 3/27 with an impressive economy of 6.8.
Major Blows to PBKS by Mohsin Khan
Following Dhawan's departure, Liam Livingstone stepped up to partner with him. However, the partnership was short-lived as Dhawan succumbed to a delivery from Mohsin Khan just a few balls later. The skipper's valiant innings of 70 runs off 50 balls concluded as de Kock cleanly gathered the ball behind the stumps to complete the dismissal.
Adding more to Punjab's troubles, Mohsin struck again immediately on the next delivery, claiming the wicket of Sam Curran this time.
Shashank Singh (8 off 6) entered the fray to join forces with Livingstone at the crease. Despite Livingstone's spirited effort, accumulating 27 runs off just 16 deliveries laced with two sixes and an equal number of boundaries, PBKS ultimately fell short by 21 runs.
What Happened in the First Innings?
Krunal Pandya scored a quickfire 43 runs off 22 balls.
Image: PTI
In the first innings, Krunal Pandya's late fire of 43 in 22 deliveries after Quinton de Kock's 54 and Nicholas Pooran 42, guided the Super Giants to 199 for 8 in 20 overs.
Electing to bat first, LSG had a good start as both the opener KL Rahul and Quinton de Kock added 35 runs on the board in the first four overs. Rahul, who played as an impact sub rather than captaining the side, fell prey to Arshdeep Singh after banging a six and a boundary in his over.
Devdutt Padikkal playing his second match for LSG got out to Sam Curran on nine runs pulling the length ball straight into the hands of captain Shikhar Dhawan. However, de Kock on the other hand continued playing his attacking short down the ground with Marcus Stoinis joining him at number four. LSG finished their powerplay with 54 runs on the board losing two wickets.
De Kock - Pooran Partnership
Stoinis hammered back-to-back sixes before getting out to Rahul Chahar on the very next delivery.
At 78 for 3 in the ninth over, in walked the captain Nicolas Pooran. Soon the spinners were taken off from the attack and the pacers came back. Chahar came back into the attack and Pooran on the strike showed him why he was taken away from the attack. De Kock got out immediately on 54, trying to hit Arshdeep Singh for a six and getting a top edge.
Pooran continued his striking ability and collected 11 runs from Singh’s over. Rabada bowling his last over of his spell got rid of dangerous Pooran courtesy of a paced bouncer angling back on the body. Pooran scored 42 off 21 deliveries with a strike rate of 200.
Krunal Pandya's Fiery Finish
However, the show stealer with the bat was left-arm orthodox spinner Krunal Pandya, who took the responsibility of ending LSG’s inning with good runs on the scoreboard. Pandya hammered 18 runs off Patel's second last over and took Lucknow over 170.
LSG collected 65 runs in the last five overs which propelled them to 199 for 8 in their twenty overs which is now the highest score of Ekana Cricket Stadium in the IPL. For Punjab, Sam Curran was productive with the ball as he scalped three wickets giving away 28 runs. Arshdeep Singh got two, Rabada and Chahar shared a wicket each.
With inputs from IANS.
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