Lucknow Super Giants were going nowhere fast until Nicholas Pooran, their marquee buy at the auction, came to the crease. His blazing innings took them to a total their spin attack could defend, just about. In the process, Lucknow booked their play-off ticket for a second straight season, while KKR missed out for a fifth time in six seasons. Here are our takeaways from the game.
KKR are out, Rinku should be in
Come to Rinku Singh. He has been in the IPL for a few years, and playing for Uttar Pradesh with a lot of success. But this edition of the IPL has defined him. He is, probably, one of the biggest stars of IPL 2023. What is this? Improbable targets, arbitrary requirements, and forces of nature conspiring against him, and he still delivers the unbelievable. Immediately, he should be drafted into the Indian T20 side. This kind of consistency, clean hitting, and scoring runs while chasing under extreme pressure in unheard of in the history of the IPL. KKR are out, but Rinku is in, with a bang.
Pooran’s match as well
Nicholas Pooran is coming of age. He was a princely buy at Rs 16 crore, which raised eyeborows. But he has proven his worth. He needs no time to settle down. He can simply get into hit-mode as soon as he comes in to bat. Eden Gardens witnessed one such instance. That 30-ball 58 was of paramount importance in the context of the match. Lucknow Super Giants were tottering at one point in time and staring at a sub-150 total. Pooran started defying the odds from the moment he came out to bat. He played some audacious shots which cleared the boundary, and took his team to a total that was not looking probable at the halfway stage.
Spin wins it for Lucknow
The spin wing of Lucknow keeps them in the fray. The pitch at Eden Gardens was not as spin-friendly as it was known to be. But be it Ravi Bishnoi, Krunal Pandya or Krishnappa Gowtham, they bowled a number of dot balls and that made the difference in the end. Kolkata Knight Riders had got off to a brisk start. Lucknow’s spinners brought their team back into the game. Leg-spin, off-spin and left-arm orthodox going for 79 in 12 overs and accounting for four wickets was a match-turning phase. They were the ones who won it for their team. These three were the heroes who knocked KKR out of it on their home turf.
KKR fritter away starts
KKR faded out after a strong start, with the bat and the ball. Vaibhav Arora and Harshit Rana, their opening bowlers, were quite impressive at the beginning. They made run-scoring difficult. Rana, especially, bowled at a high speed with a certain amount of accuracy. Same with the start of the batting innings. At 59-0 after 5 overs, with Jason Roy and Venkatesh Iyer firing on all cylinders, it looked like their match. Then came the meltdown against spin. KKR lost track, wickets and the plot. It was not that steep a target. They just had to hold their nerves and play out a few overs instead of losing wickets. But they panicked, went for shots and lost wickets. That is where the match slipped away.
Also Read: From Career-threatening Injury to Finisher – The Rinku Singh Story