A 21-year-old debutant pacer hogged the limelight in the match predominantly controlled by the batters as Lucknow Super Giants beat Punjab Kings (PBKS) by 21 runs at the BRSABV Ekana Stadium on Saturday (March 30). Chasing 200, PBKS were left stranded on 178/5 in spite of a 102-run opening stand between skipper Shikhar Dhawan and Jonny Bairstow.
Mayank Yadav impressive on debut
In LSG's win, a new hope is born for Indian cricket. Mayank Yadav touched 150 kmph on the speedometer in his first IPL over. The 21-year-old debutant conceded just 27 runs in his four overs for the wickets of Bairstow (42, 29b, three 4s, three 6s), Prabhsimran Singh (19, 7b, one 4, two 6s) and Jitesh Sharma (6).
A century opening stand, Shikhar Dhawan’s steady 70, and a power-packed 42 by Bairstow bore little fruit in the wake of Yadav’s triple strikes as the scale remained tilted towards LSG all through the game. PBKS looked on course to make a match of it when the Dhawan-Bairstow partnership was growing stronger. Bairstow's dismissal off Yadav turned the game towards PBKS.
The UP boy had pace, control and variation to test the batters consistently.
Mohsin Khan twin strikes perfect icing on the cake
Skipper Dhawan held the LSG hopes till the 16th over. The experienced left-hander possesses the ability to strike it big in death overs. But left-arm pacer Mohsin Khan deprived PBKS and Dhawan of that opportunity. He ended the patient, mature knock by Dhawan (70, 50b, seven 4s, three 6s), caught behind by Dhawan.
Mohsin’s next, a slower bouncer, compelled Sam Curran to scoop the first ball he faced to Nicholas Pooran, who made no mistake. PBKS were left to go through the motions to complete their quota of 20 overs, just for academic interest.
LSG ahead despite big opening stand
When chasing a steep target of 10 runs per over, no partnership is good enough till the time the finish line is crossed. When Bairstow was out, caught by Marcus Stoinis off Yadav, the home team had a winning probability of 74.15 percent against Punjab’s 25.85 percent despite the 102-run opening stand. It came down for a while, but Yadav bowled the visitors out of the match with his three wickets.
Batting first, LSG innings rallied around the inspired knocks of Quinton de Kock, Nicholas Pooran and Krunal Pandya, who entertained with fireworks lower down the order, even as the PBKS pace trio of Sam Curran, Arshdeep Singh and Kagiso Rabada kept striking at crucial junctures.
Quinton de Kock lays solid foundation
De Kock set the stage for the total worthy of LSG’s decision to bat first. The South African wicketkeeper-batter, who was out for four in his first match of the season, went after compatriot Rabada and Arshdeep , after Lucknow had managed just 12 runs from the first two overs.
De Kock helped LSG to 54 in powerplay even though KL Rahul and Devdutt Padikkal (9, 6b, two 4s) were dismissed cheaply.
Marcus Stoinis’ (19, 12b, two 6s) enterprise was cut short by Rahul Chahar after conceding two back to back sixes, castling him with a length delivery.
Pooran-de Kock middle-over bash
Stoinis’ departure set the stage for the most productive partnership of the innings, 47 off 27 balls, which ended with de Kock’s departure. He top edged Arshdeep behind the wickets and wicketkeeper Jitesh Sharma made no mistake. A class opening act, highlighted by guarded aggression, produced a 38-ball 54 with five fours and two sixes.
KL Rahul the impact player!
KL Rahul, relieved of the leadership role for the match, failed to make much impact as an impact player. In a surprise move, Pooran was given the captaincy role for the match to manage the workload of Rahul, who was coming off an injury.
Rahul decided to go after Arshdeep Singh, picking six, four and a two in succession. But the lanky Punjab pacer had the last laugh. Jonny Bairstow completed the dismissal of Rahul (15, 9b, one 4, one 6), diving towards his left at backward point.
Pooran, Pandya onslaught
Pooran and Kurnal Pandya built on the solid foundation laid by de Kock to help LSG set a 200-run target for PBKS. Pooran was all at ease, flexing his arms, against each bowler he faced till the time edging Rabada onto the stumps. The ball that deserved to be punished at the hands of a well set Pooran (42, 21b, three 4s, three 6s) ended up taking him.
Pooran’s departure raised the threat of a fall in LSG strike rate. Krunal Pandya did not allow that. He returned unconquered after a 23-ball 43 (four 4s, two 6s) as LSG innings ended at 199/8.
Such was the impact of Pandya’s innings, that he slammed 35 runs in his 43-run sixth wicket stand with Ayush Badoni, whose contribution was only four runs.
Inspired display by Punjab’s pace trio
The PBKS pace trio of Curran, Arshdeep and Rabada did a reasonably good job on the newly-laid Lucknow pitch, which supported batters far more than in the last season when the first innings average score was just 148.
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