kolkata: In a match that saw over 400 runs scored, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) toppled Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) applecart in their backyard, winning by just four runs in a cliffhanger at Eden Gardens here on Tuesday.
Chasing LSG’s 238/3, KKR folded up for 234/7 despite Rinku Singh’s last-minute heroics of an unbeaten 38 off 15 balls that saw the home team finish agonisingly close.
Ajinkya Rahane won the toss and opted to bowl first on what appeared to be a flat batting track. LSG’s openers, Mitchell Marsh and Aiden Markram, wasted no time taking advantage of the conditions.
Under the blazing afternoon sun, the pair launched a ruthless assault on KKR’s bowling attack. Markram began by dispatching anything short or on his legs, while Marsh was clinical with his cuts, sweeps and straight drives. Spencer’s two-over opening spell cost 30 runs, and Rana was taken apart for 16 in a single over. LSG raced to 50 in just 5.2 overs and reached 95 without loss at the halfway mark.
Rana eventually provided the breakthrough, deceiving Markram with a fuller delivery outside off that jagged in sharply to hit the top of stumps. The 99-run opening stand came to an end and Markram walked back with a quick-fire 47 off 28 balls, including four boundaries and two sixes.
Marsh continued to dominate, bringing up his fourth fifty in five matches. He breached the mark in 36 balls, laced with four boundaries and three sixes. He was joined by Nicholas Pooran, who came in with aggressive intent from the first ball. The Marsh-Pooran partnership added 50 runs in just 19 balls, piling pressure on KKR.
Andre Russell was introduced into the attack and made an immediate impact. He removed Marsh for 81 off 48 balls, caught by Rinku at deep point.
Otis Gibson’s assessment of Russell as a “partnership breaker” rang true once again.
Pooran, however, was far from done. He raced to 52 off just 21 balls and stayed unbeaten on 87 off 36, bludgeoning seven boundaries and clearing the ropes eight times.
LSG ended their innings on a mammoth 238.
In response, KKR had a brief flourish at the top before losing Quinton de Kock early. The left-hander was trapped lbw by Akash Deep in the third over and dismissed for 15 after a successful review.
Rahane and Sunil Narine then mounted a counterattack, lifting KKR to 50 in just 3.4 overs. Their 50-run partnership came off just 19 balls, with
Rahane anchoring and Narine blazing away. Rahane was elegance personified, driving confidently and pulling with finesse, while Narine played
the aggressor as he launched sixes and slashing hard.
The momentum shifted slightly in the seventh over when debutant Digvesh Rathi dismissed Narine for 30 off 15. The youngster celebrated by mimicking a “notebook celebration” on the ground — a tribute to Narine, his idol.
At the halfway mark, KKR were still in the hunt at 129/2. Rahane brought up his half-century with a sweep off Avesh Khan, getting to 51 in just 26 balls. He and Venkatesh Iyer added a 50-run stand off 30 deliveries, keeping the chase alive.
Shardul Thakur had a horror start in the 13th over, bowling five wides, but bounced back to remove Rahane for 61. The KKR skipper misjudged a full toss and was caught by Pooran, ending a classy innings that included eight fours and one six.
Ramandeep fell soon after, followed by Impact Sub Angkrish Raghuvanshi, who lasted only four balls. Venkatesh’s departure for 45 off 29, caught off Avesh, further dented KKR’s hopes. At 172/6 in
the 15th over, KKR’s chase
was in disarray. With 54 needed off 24, hopes rested on Russell and Rinku. But Russell’s lean patch continued — he was dismissed for seven by Thakur – as the chase fizzled out from there.