Punjab Kings hosted the Lucknow Super Giants at the picturesque HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala. Playing their first game at the venue this season, PBKS started their campaign here with a win.
Batting first, Punjab Kings got off to a powerful start as the top order smashed boundaries all over the park. In spite of losing Priyansh Arya early in the innings, the hosts, thanks to Prabhsimran Singh, maintained a run rate of 11 runs per over in the power play. The opening batter found an able partner in Shreyas Iyer as the duo stitched a 78-run partnership for the third wicket. The PBKS skipper was the aggressor in the stand, scoring 45 runs in only 25 balls. The opening batter stayed on the crease and made sure to get PBKS to a score of more than 230 runs. Marcus Stoinis and Shashank Singh provided the finishing touches to the innings. For LSG, Akash Singh, playing his first game of the season, was the pick among the bowlers. He picked up a couple of wickets while going at 7.5 runs per over.
In the second innings, PBKS continued their domination over the Super Giants with Arshdeep Singh providing the best start possible. The left-arm pacer picked up three wickets in the power play, getting rid of the LSG top order. Azmatullah Omarzai picked up a couple of wickets before Abdul Samad and Ayush Badoni stitched together a valiant stand. If not for the horrible start at the start of the innings, the partnership between the two Indian batters would have made this game a bit interesting.
Prabhsimran Singh was named the player of the match for his hard-hitting knock in the first innings. The opening batter was given a second life after being dropped by Nicholas Pooran. He had scored only 21 runs when the chance was shelved. The Lucknow Super Giants had to pay for the mistake made by Pooran. Prabhsimran went on to score 70 more runs as he smashed six fours and seven sixes in his 48-ball knock.
Prabhsimran Singh was spotless for the entirety of his knock, barring that one delivery where he was dropped by Nicholas Pooran. The right-handed batter missed out on his century as he was dismissed in the 90s. He was playing a selfless knock and not thinking about his milestone, and was rather searching for a boundary when he was dismissed. In his 48-ball knock, the 24-year-old scored 91 runs, hitting six fours and seven sixes.
Arshdeep Singh showed why he is probably the best Indian pacer after Jasprit Bumrah in the shortest format. The left-arm pacer was given the new ball with PBKS defending a score of 237 runs. While it was always going to be a monumental task for the Super Giants, Arshdeep sealed the game with his opening spell. The 26-year-old bowled three overs in the power play and gave away only 10 runs while picking up three wickets. He broke the back of the LSG batting lineup, dismissing Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram, and Nicholas Pooran in the first five overs. In his four overs, Arshdeep went for only 16 runs and sealed the win in the second innings with the spell.
Josh Inglis, like Prabhsimran, was given a second life. While he could not convert it into a huge score like his teammate, the Australian batter smashed the LSG bowlers during his short stay at the crease. Having been promoted in the batting order, the right-hander showcased why the team displayed confidence in him as he raced to 30 runs in only 14 balls, hitting a solitary four and four sixes.
It was another special knock by the PBKS skipper, Shreyas Iyer. He gave up his number three batting position for Josh Inglis. The move worked brilliantly for both players. Inglis scored 30 runs in only 14 balls, while Iyer showed once again, as he crossed the 10-run mark, that he can become unstoppable. It was the first time that Iyer was dismissed by a spinner and the first time in this season where he scored more than but was out before making a fifty. In his 25-ball knock, Iyer struck four fours and a couple of sixes.
Like Akash Singh in the first innings, Ayush Badoni was the shining light in a poor batting lineup in the second innings. The right-handed batter struck only his second fifty of the season. He scored 74 runs in 40 balls, which is his highest IPL score. While he received some support from Abdul Samad, Badoni made sure on his own that the margin of defeat was much less than what it could have been. He was dismissed in the final over by Yuzvendra Chahal while trying to switch hit the leg spinner for a six.
Akash Singh, making his debut for the Lucknow Super Giants, was the pick among the bowlers in the first innings. The left-arm pacer bowled his four overs pretty early into the innings and was potent with the new ball. He picked up a couple of wickets, dismissing Priyansh Arya and Josh Inglis. On a night when his team conceded 236 runs, Akash’s four overs went for only 30 runs.
It was a pretty ordinary display of fielding by Lucknow Super Giants. There were a few catches that were dropped, which proved to be the difference between a par score and 236 runs in the first innings. Prabhsimran Singh was dropped by Nicholas Pooran when he was batting at only 20 runs in the sixth over. He made sure that the LSG players paid for their mistake as he went on to score 71 more runs.
Apart from Prabhsimran, Josh Inglis too was dropped. While the Australian batter did not go on to make a huge score, he sure made the opposition pay for their mistakes with a quickfire knock of 30 runs. Skipper, Shreyas Iyer played a great second fiddle to Prabhsimran Singh while he himself went all guns blazing. The right-handed batter was dismissed by a spinner for the first time this season, but not before he scored 45 runs in 25 balls. A handful of contributions came from Shashank Singh and Marcus Stoinis down the order to provide the finishing touch to the innings.
For Lucknow Super Giants, the only positive that came in the second innings was Akash Singh. The left-arm pacer playing his first game for the franchise picked up a couple of wickets and gave away only 30 runs in his four overs. The rest of the bowlers from the Super Giants were pretty ordinary.
Arshdeep Singh, like he has done for the better part of his career, got his team off to a brilliant start with the new ball. The left-arm pacer bowled a quiet three-run over to begin the proceedings. In his following over, he dismissed Mitchell Marsh and Aiden Markram.
Looking at his impressive bowling, Iyer gave his senior pacer another over and reaped the rewards as Arshdeep trapped Nicholas Pooran in front of the stumps. Azmatullah Omarzai picked up a couple of wickets, dismissing Rishabh Pant and David Miller. The Afghan pacer made sure that LSG never got going in their chase.
Finally, a partnership for the Super Giants came in the form of Ayush Badoni and Abdul Samad. The two domestic Indian batters stitched an 81-run partnership for the sixth wicket. However, with the mammoth total they were chasing, it was always going to be a tough ask of the two batters after the horrendous start in the power play.
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