In the 42nd match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) defeated Punjab Kings (PBKS) by 20 runs at the MCA Stadium in Pune.
After winning the toss, Mayank Agarwal asked Lucknow Super Giants to bat first. Innings began in a quite tricky manner as the pitch was difficult to guess how it is going to be. Both the openers struggled a bit but Quinton de Kock (47) managed to get through the initial ugly patch and gave a gentle start to the innings despite losing captain KL Rahul early. The southpaw hit four fours and two sixes in his inning and finally marked his presence once again in the IPL 2022. Deepika Hooda (34) continued with de Kock and had a strong partnership of 85 runs for the second wicket. The Lucknow based franchise lost both the batsman in consecutive overs and was straightaway in huge trouble as no new batsman really got going further. It was a disappointing performance for LSG batsmen as they couldn’t take the team beyond par score. In the end some crucial quickfire runs from Dushmantha Chameera (17) and Moshin Khan (13*) helped Lucknow reach a total of 153/8 in their 20 overs.
Chasing 154, Punjab Kings also had a difficult start on the given pitch at the MCA Stadium as both the openers took their time to settle in. Agarwal (25) got a good start but couldn’t take it forward. Jonny Bairstow (32), who got a promotion today, helped PBKS with five fours but it is a kind of pitch where once a batsman settles down, he needs to take it forward. After Bairstow was sent back to the pavilion, no one really pulled up their socks for the Punjab based team. In the end, the team was restricted down to just 133/8 in their 20 overs.
It was bowlers day in Pune as Mohsin Khan scalped three wickets in the second innings to help LSG defend a low total. Krunal Pandya was also brilliant today with the ball as he got two wickets and just gave 11 runs in his quota of four overs. Along with him, Chameera also got two wickets. Ravi Bishnoi had a bad day at the office as he only got one wicket to his name.
For PBKS, only Kagiso Rabada was impressive as he plucked four wickets. Two wickets were taken by Rahul Chahar and Sandeep Sharma managed to get one as well.
Krunal Pandya was adjudged Man of the Match for his brilliant bowling spell. Lucknow Super Giants have scored two points today and are now third in the points table.
Scorecard:
Lucknow Super Giants: 153/8, Overs 20, Quinton de Kock 46, Kagiso Rabada 4/38
Punjab Kings: 133/8, Overs 20, Jonny Bairstow 32, Mohsin Khan 3/24