Lucknow Super Giants pull off thrilling win after Pooran, Stoinis blitz and dramatic finish
Lucknow Super Giants 213 for 9 (Stoinis 65, Pooran 62, Siraj 3-22) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 212 for 2 (du Plessis 79*, Kohli 61, Maxwell 59, Mishra 1-18) by one wicket
It was a rolling ride where the teasing tickle in the stomach never seemed to stop, as the coaster went up and down, left and right, threatening to crash into a pool one moment before soaring high into the clouds the next. That's what the game felt like.
Lucknow Super Giants needed four to win from the remaining five balls with three wickets in hand. Then Mark Wood got bowled. Few balls later, a tumbling Faf du Plessis almost fumbled a catch, but eventually took it.
That made it 1 off 1, with one wicket in hand. Harshal Patel, the bowler, then attempted to run the non-striker out backing up, but missed.
Still 1 off 1. Dinesh Karthik then juggles and fails to grab the last ball behind the stumps, enough for the last two Super Giants batters to sneak a bye.
Game over. The Royal Challengers Bangalore and their fans were left with broke hearts. The Super Giants claimed a humdinger.
Stoinis starts the party
Marcus Stoinis came out at 23 for 3 after four overs. Not managing to score from his three balls, Stoinis swung across the line. Mohammed Siraj, placed at mid-on, ran back towards midwicket and dropped a difficult catch.
After seven overs, Super Giants' required rate had crossed 13, but Stoinis welcomed Harshal with 6, 4, 4. Next over, Karn Sharma was given the same treatment. In the over after that, Shahbaz Ahmed was creamed for two sixes. The first of that brought up his fifty off 25 balls. Karn got his revenge in the 11th over when Stoinis departed for 65 from 30 deliveries. But only if Royal Challengers knew what was to follow.
Pooran pings sixes at will
Nicholas Pooran arrived when Super Giants needed another 114 from 56 balls in pursuit of 213. The second ball he faced was dispatched over long-on. He was on 10 off five deliveries at one stage. He ended with 62 from 19. Seven of those balls were hit for sixes, and four of them for fours. Carefree, unstoppable T20 batting, with the swag, muscle and calmness of Sir Viv.
Pooran's fifty came up off 15 deliveries. Balls flew over long-on, square leg, extra cover and fine leg. Fielders' jaws dropped and the bowlers' spirits were crushed as Pooran was merciless. When he was finally dismissed, he left Super Giants needing only 24 from 18.
Impact Player Strategy
Introduced in the 12th over, Amit Mishra carried forward the mania from Lucknow to Bangalore, and struck third ball to dismiss Virat Kohli. Two overs later, Glenn Maxwell smashed him for 4, 6 off successive deliveries as Mishra ended at 2 for 18. Despite being brought on quite late, he was subbed by Ayush Badoni. Badoni, to his part, played the ice to Pooran's fire, guiding Super Giants with a composed 30 in 24 deliveries, before hitting his stumps with the bat in a follow through after scooping the ball for six, a-la Roy Fredericks from the 1975 World Cup final.
Royal Challengers replaced Anuj Rawat, who didn't get to bat, with legspinner Karn at the start of their defence. Karn ended up conceding 48 in three overs, the most expensive economy for any Royal Challengers bowler (min. three overs) ever.
du Plessis, Maxwell and Kohli's fifties in vain
Royal Challengers' innings was of three parts: 56 runs in the powerplay, 48 in the next seven, and 108 from the final seven. The start was down to an attacking Kohli, who ended the first six overs on 42, with four fours and three sixes. But his last 19 runs took as many deliveries to come, with the Super Giants' spinner Krunal Pandya and Ravi Bishnoi applying the brakes.
Carnage was to follow. In what turned to be a six-fest, du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell smacked 11 sixes until the end of the innings. Du Plessis finished on 79, while Maxwell smashed 59 at double the pace. Royal Challengers soared to 212. In the end, it was all for nothing.