Picture : BCCI
In a dramatic anti- climax encounter LSG KL Rahul managed to snatch defeat from jaws of victory with a bizarre batting approach as defending champions Gujarat Titans beat Lucknow Super Giants by seven runs in a low-scoring IPL 2023 match in Lucknow.
Chasing target of 136 on a sluggish pitch at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow, LSG were cruising along at 105/1 after 14 overs with 31 needed from the last six overs but they self-destructed at the end to finish on 128/7.
Veteran Mohit Sharma (2/17 in 3 overs) successfully defend only 12 off the final over. He removed Rahul (68 off 61 balls), who was caught at deep square leg, as he kept hitting the blockhole length to conceded only five runs in the final over, in which LSG lost four wickets in total.
But the entire blame falls on Rahul, who was dropped on 54 by Vijay Shankar at long-on off the bowling of Jayant Yadav, as he struggled after getting to his fifty from 38 balls. He managed 18 runs from the next 21 balls as Lucknow’s slow approach allowed Gujarat to comeback into the contest from a position of no-hope.
left-arm wrist spinner Noor Ahmad bowled two brilliant overs to return with figures of 2/18, while Mohammed Shami’s international experience saw him concede just five in the penultimate over, leaving Mohit with a tricky assignment to defend 12 which he completed with elan.
LSG lost the game in the last five overs with Noor triggering the turnaround keeping Rahul in check. Infact, Lucknow’s batters didn’t hit a single in the last seven overs allowing Gujarat to script a famous come-from-behind victory.
With the win, GT climbed to the fourth spot with eight points in the IPL standings, while LSG, on the same number of points, stayed second courtesy of a better net run-rate.
Defending the total, Shami bowled a maiden opening over but he erred in his second over and was dispatched by KL Rahul for three successive fours to amass 14 runs.
Earlier, Hardik Pandya top-scored with a 50-ball 66 but slow batting in the middle overs meant that Gujarat Titans could post only a modest 135/6 on a difficult pitch at the .
Wriddhiman Saha made 47 off 37 balls to lay the foundation but Hardik couldn’t get going for most part of his innings but made up for the slow batting with some big hits in the end.
With the pitch a tad slow and aiding the spinners, stroke-making was difficult and Krunal Pandya emerged Lucknow’s best bowler as he snapped two wickets, giving away just 16 runs after coming to bowl in the second over.
Pacer Naveen-ul-Haq (1/19) and Marcus Stoinis (2/20) also did the job but Ravi Bishnoi had a forgettable outing as he conceded 49 off his quota of four overs.
The black soil pitch didn’t offer much bounce and pace but Naveen-ul-Haq used the conditions well, not allowing the batters to break free as he conceded just 12 in his first two overs.
Match: IPL 2023, 30th Match
Venue: Lucknow | Date: April 22, 2023
