LSG vs PBKS match summary: Sikandar Raza (57) and Shahrukh Khan (23*) did the star turn for Punjab Kings as they defeated Lucknow Super Giants by two wickets in a tense chase in Lucknow on Saturday.
Having been asked to bat first, LSG rode on KL Rahul’s 74 to post 159 on the board, but that just was not going to be enough.
Shikhar Dhawan missed this game due to a shoulder injury, and Sam Curran led PBKS in Dhawan’s absence. Curran (3/31) led from the front to restrict the opposition.
In Punjab Kings’ chase, regular wickets kept hurting their momentum but Raza, the Zimbabwean, kept their hopes alive.
Raza was involved in two separate 30-plus stands with Harpreet Singh and Sam Curran, but Raza was dismissed in the 18th over, leaving PBKS at 139/7.
PBKS needed seven to win off the last over. Shahrukh collected a couple of runs off the first two balls, reducing the deficit to three from four, and in the third ball of the over, Shahrukh thumped towards long off to hit the winning runs.
The win took PBKS to fourth in the points table with six points.
Preview: Second placed Lucknow Super Giants take on Punjab Kings, who are placed sixth in the IPL 2023 points table.
Punjab Kings, led by Shikhar Dhawan, are desperate to return to winning ways after having lost their last two matches, to Sunrisers Hyderabad and Gujarat Titans.
Lucknow Super Giants, meanwhile, will hope to get to eight points and top the tab, should they win against Punjab Kings.
As far as LSG are concerned, West Indian Kyle Mayers could make way for South Africa’s Quinton de Kock in the playing XI.
After beginning IPL 2023 with two consecutive fifties, Mayers has registered scores of 13 and 0 in his last two matches, while also getting limited opportunities to bowl.
De Kock has not played a game for LSG this season, and Saturday might be the day fans get to witness the South African in LSG colours again.
Another concern for LSG is skipper KL Rahul’s consistency. Rahul has scored just 81 runs from four matches at a strike rate of 100, with a highest score of 35, and for LSG to put up competitive totals or chase down big totals, it will be paramount that Rahul fires at the top of their order.
Meanwhile, PBKS have issues of their own to deal with. Liam Livingstone, the England big hitter, pulled up a muscle after his recent arrival in India, and his wait for an IPL game this season is expected to be a bit longer.
“He came for practice yesterday, pulled his muscle and another 2-3 days before he should be good to go,” Dhawan had commented about Livingstone after PBKS’ game against Gujarat Titans.
Squads:
LSG: KL Rahul (c), Avesh Khan, Ayush Badoni, Quinton de Kock, K Gowtham, Deepak Hooda, Prerak Mankad, Kyle Mayers, Amit Mishra, Naveen-ul-Haq, Krunal Pandya, Nicholas Pooran, Ravi Bishnoi, Daniel Sams, Karan Sharma, Romario Shepherd, Marcus Stoinis, Swapnil Singh, Jaydev Unadkat, Manan Vohra, Mark Wood, Mayank Yadav, Yash Thakur, Yudhvir Singh, Mohsin Khan (awaiting fitness clearance)
Shikhar Dhawan (c), Arshdeep Singh, Baltej Singh, Raj Bawa, Rahul Chahar, Sam Curran, Rishi Dhawan, Nathan Ellis, Harpreet Brar, Harpreet Singh, Vidwath Kaverappa, Liam Livingstone, Mohit Ratee, Prabhsimran Singh, Kagiso Rabada, M Shahrukh Khan, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Jitesh Sharma, Shivam Singh, Matthew Short, Sikandar Raza, Atharva Taide
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