MOHSIN, CHAMEERA, KRUNAL GUIDE LUCKNOW TO 20-RUN WIN OVER PUNJAB

Mohsin Khan bagged three wickets while Dushmantha Chameera and Krunal Pandya bagged two each for Lucknow Super Giants as they restricted Punjab Kings to 133/8 in 20 overs and registered a 20-run win at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium here on Friday.

Chasing a 154-run target, Punjab Kings got off to a decent start. Captain Mayank Agarwal and Shikhar Dhawan gave their team a steady start. Agarwal did most of hitting as he took the bulk of the strike. Dushmantha Chameera got Lucknow Super Giants back into the game dismissing Punjab Kings skipper Agarwal for 25 off 17 balls as PBKS lost their first wicket for 35 runs.

Leg spinner Ravi Bishnoi got the prized scalp of Shikhar Dhawan for 5 as Punjab Kings lost their second wicket for 46. Jonny Bairstow and Bhanuka Rajapaksa took their team’s total beyond the 50-run mark. In the next over, Krunal Pandya dismissed Bhanuka Rajapaksa for 9. Punjab desperately needed a partnership and Jonny Bairstow and Liam Livingstone struck one to keep their side in the game.

The 30-run partnership between the two was broken as Livingstone was dismissed by Mohsin Khan and Punjab Kings lost their fourth wicket for 88. In the next over, Jitesh Sharma was dismissed leg before wicket by Krunal Pandya for 2 as Punjab lost half of the side for 92.

Rishi Dhawan joined Bairstow to take Punjab’s total beyond the 100-run mark in 14.4 overs. But Punjab were dealt with a body blow as Chameera made him his second victim to leave Punjab Kings tottering at 103/6.

From there on Punjab never looked like chasing the total down as Mohsin Khan came in the 18th over to dismiss Kagiso Rabada and Rahul Chahar cheaply as Lucknow restricted them to 133/8 in 20 overs to register a 20-run win. Rishi Dhawan remained unbeaten on 21.

Earlier in the day put into bat Lucknow Super Giants did not get the best of the start losing their in-form skipper KL Rahul as Kagiso Rabada dismissed him caught behind by wicket-keeper Jitesh Sharma for 6.

Opener Quinton de Kock and Deepak Hooda then struck a partnership and batted cautiously to score 39 runs in six overs of powerplay. The duo also took their team’s total beyond the 50-run in 7.4 overs and also notched up a fifty run stand for the second wicket in 40 balls. The 85-run partnership was broken by Sandeep Sharma as he dismissed opener de Kock for 46 off 37 balls as LSG lost their second wicket for 98.

Krunal Pandya walked in to bat with Hooda as they took their team’s total beyond the triple-figure mark. After reaching the 100-run mark Jonny Bairstow ran out Hooda for 34 as Lucknow lost their third wicket for 104.

In the next over Krunal Pandya was dismissed by Rabada for 7 as the pacer took his second wicket of the match and Lucknow lost their fourth wicket for 105. After three balls Ayush Badoni became the South African speedster’s third victim for 4 and LSG lost half of their side for 109.

Wickets kept falling for Lucknow as leg spinner Rahul Chahar dismissed Marcus Stoinis caught and bowled for 1. Chahar came back in his next over and dismissed Jason Holder for 11 reducing LSG to 127/6.

In the next over Rabada struck for the fourth time dismissing Dushmantha Chameera for 17 off 10 balls as LSG lost their eighth wicket for 144. Tailender Mohsin Khan’s boundary and a six helped Lucknow go past the 150-run mark as they were restricted to 153/8 in 20 overs.

Brief Scores: Lucknow Super Giants 153/8 in 20 overs (Quinton de Kock 46, Deepak Hooda 34; Kagiso Rabada 4/38, Rahul Chahar 2/30) vs Punjab Kings 133/8 in 20 overs (Jonny Bairstow 32, Mayank Agarwal 25; Mohsin Khan 3/24, Krunal Pandya 2/11, Dushmantha Chameera 2/17).