Superb batting show followed by collective bowling performance helped Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) hammer Punjab Kings (PBKS) by 56 runs in an IPL 2023 match at IS Bindra Stadium, here on Friday.
With this win. LSG jumped to the second spot in the 10-team standings with 10 points in eight outings while Punjab placed sixth with eight points to their kitty.
Attacking fifties from Marcus Stoinis (72 off 40) and Kyle Mayers (54 off 24) set the foundation for LSG’s massive total. Then Ayush Badoni 43 off 24 and Nicholas Pooran’s 19-ball 45 quickfire took Lucknow to 257/5 on the board, second highest total in IPL history.
In defence, bowlers came up with a brilliant show as Ravi Bishnoi (2/41) bowled brilliantly in the middle overs to pick two wickets. Yash Thakur (4/37) and Naveen-ul-Haq (3/30) then executed their plans in the slog overs to seal a big win for LSG.
Chasing the mammoth 208-run target, PBKS didn’t get the much-needed start as Stoinis struck in the first over and trapped the big fish Shikhar Dhawan cheaply for one. Then, Naveen removed Prabhsimran Singh in the fourth over. Atharv Taide hit Avesh Khan for three boundaries, single-handedly taking the powerplay total to 55/2.
Taide and Sikander Raza then steadied the ship with a 78-run third-wicket partnership before PBKS suffered a collapse. The duo collected 17 runs off the seventh over with a couple big hits. Soon, Taide completed his maiden fifty in 26 balls and PBKS were 93/2 in 10 overs.
Raza smashed Ravi Bishnoi for back-to-back boundaries and a maximum before his breezy knock came to an end in the 12th over off the bowling of Yash Thakur and PBKS was reduced to 109/3 in the mammoth chase.
PBKS suffered a major blow in the next over when Bishnoi caught and bowled Taide for 66. A couple of overs later, he removed Liam Livingstone, who was trying to inject some momentum with his hits.
With three wickets in the middle overs, LSG strengthened their grip on the match as the chase became almost impossible for the hosts with 106 needed off 28 balls and half of the side was headed back to the hut.
Naveen piled further miseries on PBKS run chase, removing Sam Curran on a slower ball. The next over, Jitesh Sharma welcomed Yash with two successive maximums before falling on the fourth ball of the over. He then dismissed Rahul Chahar for a duck.
Naveen claimed his third in the penultimate over, as he cleaned up Kagiso Rabada. Then, Yash picked up his fourth in the final in the form of Shahrukh Khan as LSG restricted Punjab 201 to notch up an impressive 56-run win.
Earlier, putting into bat first, Lucknow lost the skipper KL Rahul early in the powerplay then Mayers, who completed his fifty off just 20 balls, took the PBKS bowlers to cleaners before falling in the sixth over as Lucknow posted 74 for 2 in the powerplay.
Marcus Stoinis and Ayush Badoni continued with the onslaught as the duo kept PBKS bowlers at bay with their calculated hits and stitched 89 off 47 balls for the third wicket partnership. LSG were strong in the middle overs, collecting 110 runs between 7-15 overs for the loss of one wicket.
Livingstone finally managed to break the deadly-looking partnership, dismissing Badoni for 43. Then, Stoinis and Pooran continued with the momentum and went on to build a 76-run partnership off just 30 balls, which Sam Curran broke in the penultimate over, sending Stoinis back for the score of 73.
Arshdeep denied Pooran a half-century in the final over. With five runs coming off the last two balls, LSG finished with a huge total of 257/5 in 20 overs.
Brief scores: Brief scores: Lucknow Super Giants 257/5 in 20 overs (Kyle Mayers 54 off 24, Marcus Stoinis 72 off 40; Kagiso Rabada 2/52) beat Punjab Kings 201/10 in 19.5 overs (Atharve Taide 66 off 36, Sikander Raza 36 off 22; Yash Thakur 4/37, Naveen-ul-Haq 3/30) by 56 runs.
