Punjab Kings got back to winning ways, after two losses in a row, as they beat Lucknow Super Giants in Match 21 of TATA IPL 2023 at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow.
Sikandar Raza played a brilliant knock of 57 (41) under pressure while Shahrukh Khan provided the finishing touches with a fine 10-ball 23*-run cameo to help PBKS win by two wickets after a collective effort from the bowlers, led by captain Sam Curran (3/31) had restricted LSG to 159/8.
Chasing 160, Punjab Kings stuttered early as they lost opener Atharva Taide in the first over as he was caught at third man off debutant Yudhvir Singh. Matthew Short took the attacking approach straightaway, hitting Avesh Khan for three fours in the second over. Prabhsimran pulled one over mid-wicket off Yudhvir for a four in the next over but the LSG pacer bounced back hard to castle Prabhsimran next ball.
Mark Wood bowled a good first over, giving away just five. Short then released some pressure as he hit back to back fours off Yudhvir. He then hit the first six of the innings, off Gowtham but the LSG all-rounder hit back hard to have Short (34 off 22) caught at mid off two balls later as PBKS reached 45/3 at the end of Powerplay.
LSG kept things tight and gave away just 23 off the next four overs as they reached 68/3 at the halfway mark. The pressure was built and Harpreet Singh Bhatia departed trying to up the scoring as he holed out to deep backward square leg off Krunal Pandya. Raza then finally upped the scoring as he hit two sixes and a four off the Krunal over to make it 17 off the over.
KL Rahul then introduced Ravi Bishnoi into the attack and he struck in his first over, having Curran caught at long off for 6(6).
Raza brought up his maiden IPL fifty off 34 balls. Rahul then pulled off a brilliant diving catch, off Wood, to dismiss Jitesh Sharma. Shahrukh Khan started off in style with a thumping six over long on off his first ball to bring the equation down to 32 off 24 balls. Raza and Shahrukh took 9 runs off the Avesh Khan over as Raza crashed a four off the last ball of the over to bring the equation down to 23 off 18.
Ravi Bishnoi then bowled a brilliant over as he removed the set Raza 57(41), caught at deep backward square leg and gave away just three runs. With 20 needed off 12, Shahrukh went for a pull and ended up
getting a top edge over the keeper for a six off the first ball of the penultimate over from Wood. After a single, Harpreet Brar cracked one wide of mid off for a four. But Wood had him caught behind off the next ball and finished the over with a dot.
With 7 needed off 6, Shahrukh heaved the first ball from Bishnoi to deep mid-wicket and scampered through for a quick two. He then hit one uppishly to long on where Hooda charged forward for a catch but ended up putting in a brilliant effort to stop it as the batters took another couple. Shahrukh (23* off 10) then finished off the match with 3 needed as he cracked one wide of long off for a four to win it for PBKS by 2 wickets.
Earlier, Punjab Kings captain Sam Curran, who was leading the side in place of the injured Shikhar Dhawan, won the toss and elected to bowl. They made four changes to the starting XI as Atharva Taide, Harpreet Singh Bhatia, Sikandar Raza, Rahul Chahar replaced Prabhsimran Singh, Shikhar Dhawan, Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Rishi Dhawan. They named Prabhsimran Singh, Nathan Ellis, Mohit Rathee and Rishi Dhawan as their substitutes.
LSG, on the other hand, made two changes to the starting eleven as Ayush Badoni and Yudhvir Singh Charak replaced Jaydev Unadkat and Amit Mishra. They named Amit Mishra, K Gowtham, Jaydev Unadkat, Prerak Mankad and Daniel Sams as their Substitutes.
LSG openers Kyle Mayers and KL Rahul got off to a breezy start. They mixed caution with aggression and played calculated cricket, hitting at least one boundary every over. Mayers was dealing in sixes while Rahul was hitting fours as PBKS reached 49/0 at the end of the Powerplay. Mayers hit three sixes and a four in the powerplay while Rahul hit three fours.
PBKS clawed their way back into the match as Harpreet Brar had the dangerman Mayers caught at deep backward square leg and then Sikandar Raza trapped Deepak Hooda LBW in the next over.
Rahul and Krunal then got a move on as they hit a couple of fours off Sam Curran. The duo then amassed 14 runs off the Raza over. The next two overs went for just 13 before Rahul brought up his 50 off 39 balls with a four off Rahul Chahar. The pressure was again built slightly and Rabada came back to break the 48-run stand as he had Krunal Pandya (18 off 17) caught at deep mid-wicket. Rabada provided another big moment in the match as he had the last match hero Nicholas Pooran caught at deep mid-wicket for a duck two deliveries later.
Stoinis injected momentum with two sixes in a row off Chahar and Rahul too picked up his scoring, slashing one over point for a six off Rabada.
Captain Curran then bowled a fantastic over as he gave away just 5 runs and picked up the wicket of Marcus Stoinis, strangled down the leg side, off a successful review. The umpire gave it not out but Curran reviewed it and replays showed he had gloved it.
Rahul (74 off 56) looked to break the shackles with an upper cut for a four off Arshdeep but the PBKS pacer bounced back to have him caught at long on two balls later.
LSG introduced K Gowtham, who walked in to bat at 8, as their Impact Player, replacing Mayers. Arshdeep finished the over well and gave away 9 runs in the over which included the wicket of Rahul.
Curran finished it really well, picking up the wickets of Gowtham and Yudhvir Singh and conceding just 7 off the last over to restrict LSG to 159/8.
Sam Curran picked up three wickets (3/31) while Kagiso Rabada (2/34) scalped two.
Punjab Kings introduced Prabhsimran Singh as their Impact Player as he came out to open with Atharva Taide. Prabhsimran replaced Rahul Chahar.
