IPL 2023 Live, Lucknow Super Giants vs Punjab Kings Score Updates: When Sam Curran walked back to the dugout, Punjab Kings were five down and the score on the board was 112. The million-dollar player and the stand-in captain was visibly dejected and Lucknow Super Giants were very much in control of Tata IPL 2023 match 21. At that point, nobody could have expected that this game will go down to the wire. But it did and how!
PBKS batter Sikandar Raza’s terrific 55 off 41 deliveries kept Kings alive in the game. But when LSG spinner Ravi Bishnoi got him, it looked like that game was over for Punjab Kings and Lucknow Super Giants were on their way to post another victory. In came Shahrukh Khan. Just like his namesake, Khan was ‘Badshah’ tonight and ruled Ekana with big shots! His 23 off 10 sealed the deal for the Kings as they registered a thrilling 2-wicket win over Lucknow Super Giants. With this win, PBKS are in top 4 of the IPL points table.
Indian Premier League, 2023
Lucknow Super Giants
159/8 (20.0)
Punjab Kings
161/8 (19.3)
Match Ended ( Day – Match 21 )
Punjab Kings beat Lucknow Super Giants by 2 wickets
Earlier in the evening, Lucknow Super Giants had a smooth start after they were asked to bat first by Punjab Kings stand-in captain Sam Curran. PBKS bowlers were very successful as they restricted the home team to 159. LSG skipper KL Rahul scored 74 off 54 balls at a strike rate of 132.14.
Apart from absence of ‘Gabbar’, Kings didn’t have Rajapaksa either. This was the first time that Sam Curran was captaining a match in any format ever. So, there were a lot of responsibility on young shoulders.
One of the biggest news from Ekana was that Shikhar Dhawan not playing in the match. After the match, Sam Curran said that the experience of stand-in skipper was amazing, and he hoped Dhawan will be fine soon.
Here are key moments of LSG vs PBKS IPL match:
This is a very special win for Punjab Kings. When their regular skipper was injured with several key players missing in action, stand-in captain Sam Curran and other like Sikandar Raza, Harpreet Bhatia held their nerves to win at Ekana. That explosive cameo by Shahrukh Khan seals the deal.
The last over thriller trend continues at Ekana. This can go any way, just too much excitement here. Mark Wood gets Harpreet Brar but Kings are still holding the fort.
Sikandar Raza's 57 off 41 ended with terrific spin attack by Ravi Bishnoi. He could have saved the team. Looks absolutely dejected in the dugout.
KL Rahul gets spinner Ravi Bishnoi. Can he keep LSG on top or SRK and Sikandar can change the game? With run rate hovering over 8, it can go either way if there are couple of big shots or one expensive over.
Jitesh could have played an important cameo in Kings' chase but Mark Wood just said no. That excellent catch by KL Rahul puts LSG in total control of the game
Captain Sam Curran did an amazing job with the ball but no such luck with the bat tonight! Gone for just 6 runs. This is what Ravi Bishnoi was looking for and got in his first over.
Things were looking steady for Punjab Kings when Krunal Pandya's clever delivery ended Bhatia's innings. Now PBKS stand-in captain Sam Curran is batting along with Sikandar Raza. Can he play a captain's knock to bring Punjab Kings back in the game?
Matthew Short was the glimmer of hope for PBKS batting lineup. But impact sub Gowtham just ended the journey that saw a quick 34 off 22 from Short. Remember, Kings dont have Dhawan today and Prabhsimran Singh is already back in dugout.
Yudhvir Singh's terrific bowling got the first wicket in the first over and he got Prabhsimran now. Skipper KL Rahul is supper happy. Harpreet Bhatia is batting right now. Excpet for his stellar innings in Guwahati vs Rajatshan Royals, Prabhsimran has not scored much in last tow matches.
These are what dreams are made of. Yudhvir Singh makes his debut for LSG with an amazing success. Sends back Atharva Taide on 0. Strong start for LSG. Mathhew Short is here to bat. Incredible first over for Yudhvir Singh.
When skipper Sam Curran decided to bowl the last over, he knew he will have to restrict the LSG batters come what may! Curran scalped two wickets on two deliveries. His 3/31 figure shows how good he was as a bowler as well as a skipper. The bowlers have done their job. Now, it would be interesting to see how batting lineup without Shikhar Dhawan will score on this dewy ground.
After a superb powerplay, LSG captain KL Rahul kept hitting those big shots even as wickets kept tumbling. Arshdeep Singh ends the innings. The last over is being bowled by Sam Curran.
Sam Curran sought review even as wicketkeeper Jitesh Sharma looked bit unsure. Still, Captain Sam went ahead and called for review and got the wicket of Marcus Stoinis! Fantastic case of awareness.
The tar of last match for LSG, Nicholas Pooran goes for duck. It's a simple equation for Kings tonight. Kagiso Rabada+Shahrukh Khan = WICKET! This equation gave two key wickets to Kings – Pandya and Pooran. Kagiso Rabada shows why he is all-class in IPL.
That amazing catch by Shahrukh Khan sent Krunal Pandya packing. first wicket for Rabada tonight. Pandya scored 18 off 17 at Ekana tonight. Nicholas Pooran is here to bat
KL Rahul smashed seven 4s in his first half-century of this edition of Indian Premier League. Truly a captain's knock there!
Sikandar Raza gets Deepak Hooda. Some pressure on LSG now? Maybe, maybe not. Krunal Pandya is here to bat now and there's so much batting left.
With strike rate of 126, Kyle Mayers gave a good start for LSG. He made 29 off 23 balls, which included three 6s and 1 four. LSG would have wanted him to stay longer .
Finally, Harpreet Brar gets the breakthrough wicket of Kyle Mayers and ends the first wicket partnership between Mayers and KL Rahul. Some cheer for Curran & co.
Mayers smashes a massive, massive SIX! 78 meters to be precise! Raw muscle power there! Absolutely splendid
Skipper Sam Curran got Arshdeep Singh to bowl and now Kagiso Rabada is bowling right now. But Mayers is going steady with boundaries sprinkled over. The powerplay looks good for Giants
7 runs from first over for LSG. Thigs look smooth at the moment. And yes, it's very, very noisy at Ekana!
Matthew Short to bowl the first over for PBKS. LSG Skipper KL Rahul is opening the match along with Kyle Mayers.
KL Rahul(skipper), Kyle Mayers, Deepak Hooda, Marcus Stoinis, Krunal Pandya, Nicholas Pooran(wicketkeeper), Ayush Badoni, Avesh Khan, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Mark Wood, Ravi Bishnoi
Atharva Taide, Matthew Short, Harpreet Singh Bhatia, Sikandar Raza, Sam Curran(c), Jitesh Sharma(w), Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh
News from Ekana: Yudhvir Singh will make his debut for Lucknow Super Giants today. He was handed his cap shortly before the toss.
In head-to-head analysis, LSG have faced PBKS just once. In the last year's match, LSG had won the game.
Punjab Kings have won the toss and opted to bowl first. Big news from Kings. Shikhar Dhawan will be missing out today's match. Sam Curran, the stand-in skipper, says that Dhawan had picked up an injury yesterday and as a preventive measure, he would be sitting out today.
Toss to happen anytime now. Will it be winner going for bowling first? Lots of green out there, that may help the toss winner to take a call.
Arshdeep Singh, Liam Livingstone, Prabhsimran Singh, Matthew Short, Jitesh Sharma(w), Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Rishi Dhawan, Mohit Rathee, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Sikandar Raza, Shikhar Dhawan(captain), Harpreet Singh Bhatia, Sam Curran, Atharva Taide, Gurnoor Brar, Baltej Singh, Vidhwath Kaverappa, Nathan Ellis, Shivam Singh