May 5th 2024.
It was a thrilling match in Lucknow as Sunil Narine's explosive fifty and a strong performance by the bowlers led Kolkata Knight Riders to a huge 98-run victory against the Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL on Sunday. The decision to bowl first did not go according to plan for LSG, as KKR became the first team to score over 200 runs at the Ekana stadium.
Narine once again proved his worth with the bat, going on a six-hitting spree and smashing a total of seven maximums and six fours to help KKR reach a final score of 235/6. The LSG batters had a daunting task ahead of them, chasing such a high total, but they struggled to find their footing and were eventually all out for 137 in just 16.1 overs.
Within the first 10 overs, LSG had already lost half of their team, including their skipper KL Rahul, Arshin Kulkarni, Deepak Hooda, and big hitters Marcus Stoinis and Nicholas Pooran. Despite some powerful shots from Ashton Turner, who seemed determined to showcase his batting prowess, he was unlucky as an inside edge deflected off his boot and was caught by Varun Chakravarthy.
With this win, KKR moved to the top of the table with 16 points, tying with Rajasthan Royals but having played one more game. On the other hand, LSG dropped to the fifth spot with 12 points from 11 games and their Net Run Rate took a significant hit, going from 0.094 to -0.371.
In the first innings, the in-form Narine was dropped twice in the span of two balls, but he didn't let that faze him as he continued to dominate the game. He smashed five boundaries in five balls, setting the tone for the KKR innings. In the third over, he hit back-to-back fours off Naveen-ul-Haq, followed by three consecutive boundaries off Mohsin Khan in the fourth over.
Narine and Phil Salt, who have been known for their explosive starts, gave KKR a quick 61-run stand before Naveen-ul-Haq dismissed Salt. The medium-pacer Yash Thakur then slowed down the run rate in the final over of the powerplay, only giving away two runs as KKR reached 70/1.
But Narine was undeterred and continued to dominate, reaching his fifty off just 27 deliveries with a cheeky late dab that sent the ball past the short third. He particularly targeted Marcus Stoinis, hitting three sixes in the 11th over. However, Ravi Bishnoi was able to finally dismiss Narine, who had been dropped twice before, and put an end to his spectacular innings.
Despite the LSG bowlers being able to take wickets and slow down the KKR batters, they were not able to completely contain them. Naveen-ul-Haq got rid of Andre Russell, and Yudhvir Singh, who came in as a concussion substitute for Mohsin Khan, picked up the wicket of young Angkrish Raghuvanshi in the next over. But KKR's Ramandeep Singh's unbeaten 25 off 6 balls helped the team reach a final score of over 230 runs.
It was a dominant performance by KKR, and they were able to secure an impressive victory against LSG. It was a tough loss for LSG, who dropped out of the top four and will need to regroup to make a comeback in the next game.
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