In a nail-biting contest at the BRSABV Ekana Cricket Stadium, Punjab Kings pulled off an incredible victory over Lucknow Super Giants to register their third win in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL). Sikandar Raza's counter-attack and Sharukh Khan's outstanding knock towards the end helped PBKS defeat LSG by two wickets.
Sam Curran led the PBKS tonight as regular captain Shikhar Dhawan was sidelined due to an injury. After losing the toss and asked to bat first, LSG got off to a decent start as Kyle Mayers and KL Rahul scored vital runs inside the powerplay. But with the Caribbean player getting out in the eighth over, their struggle began. KL Rahul, who scored 74 runs off 56 balls, stayed at the crease until the 19th over, but his poor strike rate and careless batting from the other batters saw them settle for an average score of 159.
In reply, LSG got off to a flying start, with Yudhvir Singh removing Atharva Taide for a 3-ball duck in the opening over. The 25-year-old once again gave a breakthrough by Prabhsimran Singh in his second over. Without their main batter Dhawan in the top order, PBKS really struggled to find momentum. The onslaught by LSG bowlers continued as Krishnappa Gowtham removed Matthew Short for 34 runs in the final over of the first powerplay.
It was Zimbabwe all-rounder Raza's counter-attack that brought PBKS back to the game. When the rest of the batters were unable to resist the LSG bowlers, the right-hander scored 57 off 41 balls to steady the ship at one end. However, Raza departed in the 18th over and Shahrukh Khan took the responsibility of finishing the game. The power hitter, who smashed 23 runs off 10 balls, finished the innings in style with a boundary in the third ball of last over.
"Feels great to be honest. When I got out, there were a few demons in my head. Credit to Shahrukh. Nice to get a fifty but if we had lost, I wouldn't have felt so good. It's one of the biggest stage. You're here and you want to do well," said Raza after being adjudged player of the match.
Here's how fans reacted:ย
KLol captaincy ๐
โ V. ๐ฎ๐ณ (@VedPathak35) April 15, 2023
Shahrukh Khan never wanted Avesh Khan to throw his helmet once again and get fined for breaching the IPL code of conduct! Hence this. Great gesture from Shahrukh! ๐ฅน#PBKSvLSG #PBKSvsLSG #LSGvPBKS #LSGvsPBKS #IPL2023
โ Sharon Solomon (@BSharan_6) April 15, 2023
Sikandar Raza & Shahrukh Khan are the heroes of Punjab Kings win.#LSGvsPBKS #IPL2023
โ Rakesh Kashyap (@RakeshMishra00) April 15, 2023
Shahrukh Khan, the finisher of Punjab.
โ Sonusays (@IamSonu____) April 15, 2023
23* runs from just 10 balls including 1 four & 2 sixes - What a ball striking. #LSGvsPBKS pic.twitter.com/053gC8eUT5
Excellent win for Punjab Kings; Shahrukh won it for Preity, brilliant match ๐ฅ
โ Praneet Samaiya (@praneetsamaiya) April 15, 2023
KL Rahul, defending your strike rate won't help, coz this is where #LSG lost... ๐๐ป
Also, keeping Ravi Bishnoi till the 15th over is a crime#PBKSvsLSG #PBKSvLSG #IPL #TATAIPL #LSGvPBKS #LSGvsPBKS
Ye IPL ka script kon likhta hai??๐ค
โ Sam: Mahiratโฃ๏ธ (@im_possible1711) April 15, 2023
IPL script-writers since the last few matches:pic.twitter.com/BzXsS681Zz
โ Ana de Armas stan (@abhithecomic) April 15, 2023
Shahrukh Khan the finisher has finally done it for Punjab
โ Utsav ๐ (@utsav045) April 15, 2023
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