INDIA: Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) delivered a spectacular batting performance to clinch a 56-run victory against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Mohali.
LSG Vs PBKS
LSG’s masterclass catapulted them to second place on the IPL points table, surpassing Chennai Super Kings and Gujarat Titans on Net Run Rate.
PBKS was chasing the second-highest total in IPL history but finished at 201 despite Atharva Taide’s 66.
LSG’s batting display was nothing short of exceptional, with Kyle Mayers smashing a 20-ball half-century, Ayush Badoni and Marcus Stoinis hitting 43 and 72 runs, respectively, and Nicholas Pooran smashing 45 runs off 19 balls.
LSG opened with Kyle Mayers, who took full advantage of the true pitch in Mohali. He scored a quickfire 54 off 24 balls, hitting seven fours and four sixes in the PowerPlay.
KL Rahul got a reprieve when PBKS dropped him on his first delivery. He, however, lost his wicket in the fourth over for just 12. However, Mayer had done his job at the top of the order, as he helped LSG to 74/2 in the PowerPlay.
LSG sent Ayush Badoni in at No.3, and he continued the team’s ascent, hitting a six and a four in tandem with Stoinis.
Chahar bowled two good overs, but the batters took apart debutant Gurnoor Brar for 24 runs in a single over.
LSG reached 128/2 at the halfway stage and had their sights firmly set on soaring past the season’s highest total (235/4 from CSK). Livingstone atoned for his earlier mistake of dropping Stoinis by dismissing Badoni in his first over.
However, Badoni, like Mayers before him, had done his job, walking off for an exceptional 43 off 24, with 30 of them coming in fours and sixes (three each). Nicholas Pooran walked out next and seamlessly joined in the carnage by hitting three successive fours in the same over by Livingstone.
By the time LSG reached 184 for 4 in the 15th over, the last time a side had such a score in 15 overs was when Chris Gayle smashed 175 against Pune Warriors India in the 2013 season.
LSG brought up 200 by the end of the 16th over and still had four overs to play.
PBKS’s misery extended to their second innings, with Shikhar Dhawan falling in the first over.
Atharva Taide tried to steady the innings with his 66, but PBKS’s chase was a losing one from the start.
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