Lucknow Super Giants strengthen playoff chances with a thrilling win over Mumbai Indians
Playing at the Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow Super Giants recorded the second consecutive victory in the 2023 edition of the Indian Premier League as they defeated Mumbai Indians by five runs.
It was a must-win game for Lucknow Super Giants as they went one-on-one against Mumbai Indians on their home ground on Tuesday. Led by Krunal Pandya, the team did the unthinkable as they scored a victory by five runs and significantly increased their chances of reaching the second round of the T20 Championship.
On the other hand, Mumbai Indians have put themselves in a tough spot as they can not afford anything less than a win in their last league match of the 16th season of the Indian Premier League against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
The much-hyped battle of cricket between the Super Giants and the five-time champion kick-started with the visiting skipper Rohit Sharma winning the toss and opting to ball first. Put to bat in the first innings, LSG did a fairly good job as they racked up a score of 177 runs in their allotted 20 overs on a relatively slow and sluggish track.
The team started off on a poor note as the new opening batter Deepak Hooda lost his wicket on the first ball of the third over after scoring only five runs off seven balls. The number three batter Prerak Mankad followed Hooda to the pavilion on the very next ball as he bagged a golden duck.
Jason Behrendorff gave the first two breakthroughs to the most successful team in the Indian Premier League by picking two consecutive wickets. Meanwhile, the former MI opening batter, Quinton de Kock also could not prolong his stay in the middle as he handed his wicket to the veteran spinner Piyush Chawla after adding only 16 runs to the scoreboard.
Following quick dismissals, the skipper Krunal Pandya and Marcus Stoinis stepped up to bring the momentum back to the camp. The spin all-rounder smacked 49 runs off 42 balls with the help of a four and six each before walking out of the field because of an injury. The 82-run partnership between Stoinis and Pandya managed to put the team back on track but there was still a long way to go.
Marcus Stoinis was the top run-scorer for LSG against Mumbai Indians
With LSG at 117 runs in 16 overs, Marcus took the onus of scoring runs upon himself as he hammered the Mumbai Indians bowlers all over the park. Owing to some spectacular power-hitting, the all-rounder quickly went from a score of 45 (35) to 69 (41) as he smashed two maximums and three boundaries against Chris Jordan.
He continued his assault against other bowlers as well and remained not out with a knock of 89 runs off just 47 balls. Meanwhile, Nicholas Pooran did not have much role to play as he faced eight balls in the middle and scored as many runs.
Chasing the target of 178 runs in the second innings, Mumbai Indians got off to a dream start as the opening pair of Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan stitched a partnership of 90 runs in the middle in just 9.4 overs. Things were going in the favor of the visiting team but Ravi Bishnoi managed to light up a gloomy Lucknow Super Giants dugout by picking two crucial wickets in the form of Rohit and Ishan.
Rohit walked back after scoring 37 runs off 25 balls and Kishan ended up as the highest run-getter for the five-time champion with a knock of 59 runs off just 39 balls. The wicketkeeper-batter’s knock was laced with as many as eight fours and one maximum. Suryakumar Yadav and Nehal Wadhera could not do much in the middle as they scored only seven and 16 runs.
Meanwhile, the power-hitter Tim David made good efforts as he played a knock of 32 runs off 19 balls by hammering one four and three sixes. David did not have enough support as Vishnu Vinod scored only two runs off four balls while Cameron Green ended up with four runs off six balls.
In the last over, Mohsin Khan delivered the perfect comeback over as the death-overs specialist helped his side defend 11 runs off the last over with David and Green still at the crease.
Notably, apart from Ravi Bishnoi, Yash Thakur was the other player to take two wickets for Lucknow Super Giants while Mohsin Khan ended up with one scalp. As LSG won the nail-biting thriller by five runs, Stoinis took the Player of the Match award home.
The Supergiants will now face Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens Stadium on Saturday evening in their last league match while Mumbai Indians will play against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Wankhade Stadium on Sunday afternoon.