KKR vs LSG Review – Rinku’s carnage in vain as Lucknow seal playoff berth
Lucknow Super Giants narrowly won the contest by one run against Kolkata Knight Riders in the thrilling affair. Notably, the two sides locked horns at the iconic Eden Gardens on Saturday, May 20.
KKR skipper Nitish Rana made the right call during the toss and elected to field first in the contest. LSG’s opening duo of Karan Sharma and Quinton de Kock failed to provide a solid head start. Karan was sent packing for mere three runs. Soon after, de Kock too headed back to the dugout with a score of 28 off 27 balls.
The home side continued to stamp their authority in the contest. They got the wickets at regular intervals which hardly provided any respite to the LSG batters. Down the order, it was Nicholas Pooran, who came in and injected massive energy into the innings and changed the dynamics of the contest. His 30-ball 58 helped LSG attain a competitive first-innings score of 176 runs in their 20 overs. Meanwhile, Vaibhav Arora, Sunil Narine, and Shardul Thakur returned with two wickets each in the innings.
During the chase, KKR got precisely the kind of start they wanted. The pair of Jason Roy and Venkatesh Iyer added 61 runs between them for the opening stand during the powerplay. Soon after Iyer’s dismissal, KKR lost wickets in quick time as they were reduced to 82/3 in under 10 overs.
Roy’s innings drew to a conclusion after being castled by Krunal Pandya for 45 off 28 balls which included one maximum and seven fours. LSG further dented KKR’s chase as they got the prized scalps of Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Andre Russell which essentially helped them claw their way back into the contest.
In came Rinku Singh, who yet again displayed his lethal hitting prowess and clobbered a few maximums to get the match down to the wire. With 21 required off the last over, Rinku got the boundaries and maximums but failed to get KKR to the finish line, thereby losing the thrilling affair by mere one run. With this, Lucknow cemented their berth in the Eliminator of the playoffs.
Top performers from the match
Nicholas Pooran: The southpaw’s knock came at a point when LSG lost wickets at regular intervals and were on course to post a paltry score. However, down the middle order, Pooran rose to the occasion and slammed 58 off 30 balls. Impressively, his knock featured as many as five sixes and four boundaries at an explosive strike rate of 193.33.
Rinku Singh: The aggressive hitter once again batted perfectly and kept the scoreboard ticking with his towering sixes and boundaries. Rinku remained unbeaten in his blazing knock as he scored a 33-ball 67 which narrowly won the game for KKR. He cracked four sixes and six boundaries at a jaw-dropping strike rate of 203.03.
What’s next for both teams?
LSG have booked their spot in the Eliminator and will play the fourth-placed team, whereas KKR have been knocked out of the race for the playoffs.
