IPL 2023: Nicholas Pooran helps LSG finish third

KOLKATA: Rinku Singh’s unbeaten 67 (33b, 6x4, 4x6) went in vain as his team Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) went down to Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) by 1 run in the IPL here on Saturday.

By virtue of this win, Lucknow finished third in the table with 17 points from 14 matches, while KKR finished seventh with 12 points from 14 games.

Lucknow will play the Eliminator in Chennai on May 24. The identity of its opponent will be known on Sunday.

Set to chase 177, Kolkata got off to a strong start reaching 61 inside the Powerplay. But it kept losing wickets with Lucknow’s Ravi Bishnoi doing the star turn taking 2/23 in 4 overs.

Off-spinner K Gowtham also bowled an economical spell taking 1/26 in four overs.

Earlier, Nicholas Pooran held the innings together with a counter-at-tacking fifty to propel Lucknow to a fighting 176 for eight. Pooran (58 off 30 balls) rebuilt the innings after LSG was precariously placed at 73/5 with all its top batters, including the in-form duo of Marcus Stoinis (0) and Krunal Pandya (9), getting out cheaply.

Put into bat, LSG struggled to break free early on with rookie new ball bowler duo of Vaibhav Arora (2/30) and Harshit Rana (1/21 from three overs) setting the pace beautifully before spinners got into the act.

Old warhorse Sunil Narine (2/28) and Varun Chakravarthy (1/38) removed Krunal and Quinton de Kock (28) in successive overs to bring cheer to the KKR camp.

But, Pooran produced his counter-attacking display and smashed Chakravarthy for two fours and a six to start the recovery act.

Overall, Pooran slammed fives sixes and four boundaries in a 74-run (47 balls) partnership with Ayush Badoni (25). In its must-win match, KKR bowlers made all the difference, bowling 49 dot balls which is equivalent to 8.1 overs.

The KKR new ball bowlers set the tempo early on with Harshit Rana giving away just one run in the opening over and returned in his next over to dismiss Karan Sharma inside the powerplay.

De Kock and Mankad, however, managed to keep the run-rate up with 54/1 in the powerplay, taking on Chakravarthy, KKR’s best spinner this season.

Just when LSG looked to have found its feet on a dry Eden surface, Arora’s twin blow in the seventh over pushed the visitor further.

BRIEF SCORES: Lucknow Super Giants 176/8 in 20 overs (N Pooran 58) bt Kolkata Knight Riders 175/7 in 20 overs (R Singh 67*, J Roy 45)