Lucknow Super Giants pulled off their highest successful run chase and the fourth highest in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL), on Monday.
The LSG posted their biggest win, chasing a daunting target of 213 against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Monday. The Lucknow franchise chased down the mammoth score off the last ball of their innings to post a memorable win.
On Monday’s match, put into bat first by LSG, RCB posted a massive 212/2 in their 20 overs. Virat Kohli (61 off 45 balls, 4 boundaries and four sixes) provided a rollicking start to his franchise, as he raised a 96-run stand off 69 balls in the company of skipper Faf Du Plessis.
From then on, the skipper found the middle of his bat as he came together with Glenn Maxwell for a swashbuckling 115-run stand off just 50 balls. Faf scored an unbeaten 79 off 46 balls, consisting of five fours and five sixes, while Maxwell starred with 59 off just 29 balls, studded with three fours and six sixes.
Dinesh Karthik was unbeaten on 1 at the close of the innings.Mark Wood (1/32) and Amit Mishra (1/18) were among the wickets for LSG.Chasing 213 runs, LSG were rocked early as they were reduced to 23/3 in four overs.However, KL Rahul (18) and Marcus Stoinis stitched a game-changing 76-run stand for the fourth wicket. Stoinis scored a quick 65 off 30 balls, consisting of six fours and five sixes.
Nicholas Pooran upped the ante following KL and Stoinis’s dismissal, scoring 62 off just 19 balls with four boundaries and seven sixes. He raised a quickfire 84-run stand with Ayush Badoni, who scored 30 off 24 balls.
The equation came down to five runs in the final over bowled by Harshal Patel, who conceded a single off the first ball and picked up a wicket with the second. A double and single were taken off balls three and four. Unadkat was dismissed off the penultimate ball, bringing down the equation to a single off 1 ball. Harshal attempted to out Ravi Bishnoi out at the non-strikers’ end but failed. The LSG pair ran a bye off the last ball, taking them to a famous win.
Mohammed Siraj was the pick of the bowlers for RCB, taking 3/22 in four overs. Wayne Parnell also took 3/41 on his IPL return. Harshal got two scalps but gave away 48 runs in four overs. Karn Sharma took 1/48 in three overs.
With this win, LSG topped the table with three wins and a loss in four games. They have a total of six points. RCB is in seventh position with a win and two losses in three games and a total of two points in their kitty. Pooran won the ‘Player of the Match’ for his game-changing knock.
Brief score: Royal Challengers Bangalore 212/2 (, Faf du Plessis 79*, Virat Kohli 61; Amit Mishra 1-18) vs Lucknow Super Giants 213/9 (Marcus Stoinis 65, Nicholas Pooran 62; Mohammed Siraj 3-22).