Sikandar Raza received his first IPL contract at the age of 36 as compensation for his impressive displays with both bat and ball at the T20 World Cup the previous year. However, he appeared to be losing his strong form after three games this season.
Liam Livingstone’s delayed arrival and a subsequent issue gave Raza a fourth opportunity to make a good impression. And, for the most part, he didn’t skip a beat.
Raza kept the middle order together for the whole of the innings as Punjab Kings needed to recover from a dangerous 45 for 3 on a slow surface in Lucknow in order to chase 160 successfully.
Shahrukh Khan wasn’t giving up
He had to deal with Mark Wood’s fierce speed and challenging lengths at one end. There were Ravi Bishnoi’s wrong’s at the other. Shahrukh managed to finish undefeated on 23 off 10 balls to secure the match with three balls remaining as another precarious finish loomed.
The fact that Kings were able to win despite playing without their usual skipper Shikhar Dhawan due to a shoulder injury was particularly encouraging. Additionally, they needed to stop a downward trend of two straight losses, which they achieved to move up to No. 4 in the points table.
The final five overs of their batting innings, where they lost 4 for 48 after KL Rahul had once again served as their pillar and scored 74 off 56 balls, will stick in the minds of the Lucknow Super Giants.
Yudhvir’s dream start
For LSG, Yudhvir Singh had an exceptional debut. Atharva Taide, a fellow rookie, was out in his first over, while in his second over, Prabhsimran Singh’s off stump was smashed by the impact of a nip backer. Matt Short, though, launched a comeback to restart Punjab’s pursuit.
Harpreet Singh, who was participating in his first IPL game in over 11 years, offered him support. Up until the time that he had to attack, Harpreet acted as the base. And following a few unsuccessful tries, he chose a deep square for a run-a-ball 22. Kings were still in danger at 75 for 4.
Captain Curran delivers at the death
When Kagiso Rabada struck twice in the fifteenth over, LSG lost their way. After a failed caught-behind appeal declared wide down the leg side, he first had Nicholas Pooran out by taking to deep midwicket. He next had Krunal caught at deep midwicket.
Sam Curran, who was leading the Kings in Dhawan’s absence, then claimed the important wicket of Marcus Stoinis after successfully challenging the on-field ruling and believing the batsman had gloved a glance to the keeper. With two more wickets in the last over and final stats of 3 for 31, Curran successfully delivered his cutters into the pitch.
Punjab Kings 161 for 8 (Raza 57, Short 34) beat Lucknow Super Giants 159 for 8 (Rahul 74, Curran 3-31) by two wickets