IPL 2025: Lucknow bowlers hold nerve to beat Mumbai

Lucknow: When half-centuries from Aiden Markram and Mitchell Marsh built a 200-plus score for Lucknow Super Giants, pacers Avesh Khan, with Digvesh Rathi and Shardul Thakur held their nerves to beat strong Mumbai Indians by 12 runs in match 16 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the BRSABV Ekana Cricket Stadium on Friday.

On a black soil pitch, Marsh capitalised on pace-on deliveries to hit 60 off 31 balls, his third fifty of the competition. After his fall, Markram stepped up to smash 53 off 38 balls, while Miller brought out the big hits in a 14-ball 27 and ensured LSG posted a 200-plus total for the second time.

For MI, who conceded 69 runs in power-play, Hardik Pandya led the way with the ball by picking up 5-36, his first five-for in T20 cricket. The MI skipper used the conditions very well by relying more on his slower balls to get his scalps and become the first-ever IPL captain to take a fifer.

In reply, Suryakumar Yadav and Naman Dhir hit 67 and 46, respectively, to keep MI in the hunt for an uphill chase. But with Suryakumar falling in the 17th over and Tilak Varma enduring a horror time with the bat, it meant that LSG’s bowlers were able to keep things under control, especially by sticking to the wide-ball plan in the death overs, and helped the side get their sixth win over a formidable MI outfit in the IPL.

Inserted into batting first, Marsh was quick off the blocks by punching Trent Boult for four and got a lucky reprieve when his edge was found by the pacer, but MI never appealed. He then hammered Deepak Chahar for three boundaries before lofting Boult over mid-off for six and inner-edging off him for four more.

Marsh’s superb march continued as he hammered and cut off Mitchell Santner for two boundaries before lofting and pulling Ashwani Kumar for six and four before a brace got him his fifty in 27 balls. Marsh’s onslaught continued as he clubbed and punched Ashwani for two more fours, and LSG ended the power play at 69/0.

But against the run of play, MI broke the 77-run opening stand when Marsh looked to drive off Vignesh Puthur but gave a simple catch back to the leg-spinner and fell for 60. Pandya struck in his first over as Nicholas Pooran couldn’t get on top of a slower bouncer, and top-edge was caught by short fine leg for 12.

He came back to fox Rishabh Pant with an off-cutter, and the leading edge on an early flick was caught by diving mid-off, sending the LSG skipper back for just two. Amidst all this, Markram stepped up to keep LSG afloat with his sixes over long-on and boundaries over the off-side, while Ayush Badoni got a move on by lofting, sweeping and cutting Santner for a hat-trick of fours.

After hitting a four off Ashwani through an expansive scoop, Badoni tried repeating the shot on the next ball, but he couldn’t adjust for the slowness of the delivery and was caught behind by Ryan Rickelton for a 19-ball 30.

Markram continued to hold the innings together by reaching his fifty in 34 balls before being undone by yet another off-cutter from Pandya and holed out to long-off for 53. Though Abdul Samad pulled to long-on off Boult, Miller hit two fours and a six in his late knock to take LSG past 200 before he and Akash Deep were dismissed by Pandya, who is now the second-highest wicket-taker with eight scalps in the tournament.

LSG’s defence began on a bright note as Akash Deep struck on his fourth ball by having Will Jacks pull straight to deep backward square leg for five. Thakur was next to strike by dismissing Ryan Rickleton in the same fashion for 10.

Dhir injected some momentum through a ruthless counter-attack against Akash – pulling for his four and two sixes before glancing to get another boundary in a 21-run fourth over, as MI eventually ended the power-play at 64/2. The duo took a boundary each off both Akash and Ravi Bishnoi before Rathi castled Dhir for 46 right after the first time out ended.

Suryakumar continued to sizzle by sweeping Bishnoi for four before driving Avesh for back-to-back boundaries. Later, he rolled his wrists to hit Thakur through wide, deep cover for another four. Despite Varma struggling, Suryakumar brought up his fifty in 31 balls with a delightful late cut-off, Bishnoi past the third man for four.

But MI was given a big blow when Suryakumar moved across to scoop but lost his balance and was caught by a backward square leg off Avesh for 67. Tilak and Hardik Pandya, though, hit a four each off Avesh before the latter swept Rathi for another boundary and brought the equation down to 29 runs off 12 balls.

With Thakur giving away five singles in the penultimate over by nailing his half-volleys and low full tosses, an out-of-sorts Varma was retired out, and Mitchell Santner came in, as the equation became 22 runs needed off the final over.

With a slow over-rate penalty meaning LSG could keep only four fielders outside 30-yard circle, Pandya lofted Avesh over deep extra cover for six. But he couldn’t reach a boundary in the rest of the final round as LSG emerged victorious.

IANS.