Lucknow Super Giants(LSG) tallied an emphatic 20-run win over Punjab Kings(PBKS) in the 42nd match of the Indian Premier League(IPL) on Friday, April 29 at the MCA Stadium in Pune.
LSG showcased outstanding bowling performance to clinch the win
Punjab Kings had opted to bowl first after winning the toss. Batting first, LSG started to rebuild post KL Rahul’s early wicket Quinton De Kock and Deepak Hooda planned to rebuild. At one stage, they were at 98/1 in the 13th over.
However, all hopes of a big total ended quite quickly as LSG lost five wickets in quick succession to have themselves at 144/8 in 18.3 overs. The consistent bowling from Kagiso Rabada and Rahul Chahar saw Punjab restrict Lucknow to 153 for eight in 20 overs.
Sandeep Sharma plotted De Kock’s dismissal in the 13th over before lazy run-out dismissal saw Hooda walk back in the very next over. Rabada’s couple of wickets and Chahar’s twin strikes further triggered a collapse as LSG eventually went eight down against Punjab.
Chasing 154 for a win, Shikhar Dhawan and Mayank Agarwal started cautiously before the latter took on the bowlers. Liam Livingstone and Jonny Bairstow departed to put LSG in command of the match. Liam Livingstone and Jonny Bairstow steadied PBKS’ ship after a flurry of wickets in the first 10 overs of the run-chase but soon the former lost his wicket to Mohsin Khan.
Dushmantha Chameera dismissed skipper Mayank Agarwal for 25 runs as KL Rahul took a good catch at the mid-off region. Soon, Ravi Bishnoi took Shikhar Dhawan’s wicket followed by Bhanuka Rajapaksa departing to Krunal Pandya to jolt PBKS in the run-chase. PBKS were restricted to 133 at the expense of eight wickets after the end of 20 overs. This win helped LSG to reach the third position, while PBKS went down to the seventh position on the league table.
