Fans of Lucknow Super Giants at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, were in for a double treat as three super-explosive knocks from Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, and Nicholas Pooran helped LSG post 238/3 in their 20 overs against the defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Tuesday.
LSG needs to defend 239 runs to secure their third victory in the tournament. After a 95-run score in the first 10 overs, LSG went berserk in the second half as a six-hitting spree from Marsh and Pooran helped them accumulate another 143 runs in the next 10 overs.
Marsh & Pooran Led LSG to Win Over KKR
KKR chose to field first after winning the toss. LSG openers Mitchell Marsh and Aiden Markram attacked KKR bowlers from the very first ball, targeting particularly out-of-form Spencer Johnson, who got punished in the fourth over by Markram with two fours and a six for 18 runs.
Powerplay’s last over, bowled by Harshit Rana, was costly as the two had no trouble collecting a six each and taking it to the 50 mark in 5.2 overs. At the end of the powerplay, LSG were 59/0 with Markram on 36* and Marsh on 21 unbeaten.
Marsh and Markram challenged none other than Sunil Narine, who was hit for a whopping 23 runs in the first two overs they faced. Marsh had a particular upper hand against him.
Here’s the scorecard at the end of 10 overs: LSG 95/0. Aiden Markram not out on 43 and Mitchell Marsh unbeaten on 48.
The duo had a great partnership of 99 runs before Markram was bowled out by Harshit Rana with a slower ball. Markram scored 47 in 28 balls, including four boundaries and two sixes.
The LSG’s team hundred came in 10.3 overs. Marsh took only 36 balls, with four fours and three sixes for his fourth fifty in five matches.
It was just LSG making a meal out of Spencer as three fours from Marsh and Nicholas Pooran, along with two wides, put them under 16 runs against the score at the end of the 12th over. Vaibhav Arora also went to give some of those extras and faced some hefty hitting from Marsh.
Even the ever-hot Varun Chakravarthy was dragged into this mess, giving away 16 runs in his last over, with two sixes from the pair. LSG reached its 150-run mark in just 13.3 overs.
Pooran dominated spin, bringing up his 2000 IPL runs with two sixes against Narine.
Andre Russell ended the massacre by dismissing Marsh for 81 off 48 balls with six fours and five sixes, terminating a brisk 70-run partnership in 30 balls. LSG stood at 170 for 2 within 15.2 overs.
Pooran kept troubling LSG bowlers throughout the death overs. He finally brought up his third fifty of the season in a mere 21 balls, smiting two fours and six sixes. He broke Russell by hitting three fours and two sixes in his over. Russell managed to be 24 runs shy of LSG when they reached their 200-run mark in 17.3 overs.
Rana’s second wicket, an easy clean-up operation for him, resulted in the catching of Abdul Samad for a mere six runs, giving KKR a moment of respite. KKR is now at 221/3 in 18.2 overs.
LSG scored a total of 238 runs in the 20 overs, with Pooran unbeaten at 87 off 36 balls (scoring seven fours and eight sixes) and David Miller remaining at the crease on four.
Even though Harshit Rana, who was the most expensive bowler, took 2 wickets for 51 runs in four overs, Spencer Johnson had a rough time and gave up 46 runs in just three overs. Russell took 2/32 in his two overs. The spin duo of Narine and Varun did not work as they went wicketless with 0/38 in three overs and 0/31 in four overs respectively.
Rinku & Rahane Retaliate For KKR
KKR opened its innings with a bang. The two batsmen Quinton de Kock and Sunil Narine scored 31 runs in the first two overs, cashing in on Akash Deep and Shardul Thakur. Akash finally succeeded in trapping de Kock LBW using a well-disguised change of pace. However, KKR’s momentum was hardly dented.
Ajinkya Rahane showed that his newfound prowess in T20 cricket had not just come to pass by batting flamboyantly and with some urgency. With Narine, he steered KKR to 90/1 in the Powerplay, their best this season. Sparkling Eden Gardens hummed to the sound of Rahane and Venkatesh Iyer creating a mighty partnership, targeting Ravi Bishnoi and Digvesh Rathi in their middle-over battle. However, the same Rathi, who had earlier incurred a fine for his precocious celebrations this season, would strike a major blow by dismissing his hero Narine for 30 and then celebrate in his customary way – writing invisible things on the soil.
Rahane raced to a 50 off 26 balls, but LSG hit back with a vengeance between the 13th and 16th overs, snatching four big wickets in a mere 16 balls. Thakur dismissed Rahane for 61 with a wide full toss after a sequence of 5 wides; Bishnoi had Ramandeep Singh caught slogging; Avesh Khan cleaned up Angkrish Raghuvanshi; and Akash Deep came back to take out the dangerous Venkatesh Iyer for 45.
As Russell and Rinku Singh went into overdrive, KKR still had hope, needing 61 runs off the last five overs. Thakur took another wicket by getting rid of Russell, and Avesh bowled a steady second last over, which left Rinku with too much to accomplish in the final over.
Rinku almost made the impossible possible, needing 23 to win off the last over. He slammed two fours and a six off the last three balls but could not stop the unavoidable end, remaining unbeaten on 38 runs off 15 balls.
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Scorecard LSG vs KKR, 21st Match IPL 2025, Kolkata, Apr 08 2025
Lucknow Super Giants 238/3
Nicholas Pooran 87* (36)
Mitchell Marsh 81 (48)
Aiden Markram 47 (28)
Shardul Thakur 2/52
Akash Deep 2/55
Digvesh Rathi 1/33
Kolkata Knight Riders 234/7
Ajinkya Rahane 61(35)
Venkatesh Iyer 45 (29)
Rinku Singh 38 (15)
Harshit Rana 2/51
Andre Russell 1/32
