Lucknow post 257 on route to massive win against Punjab

The Lucknow Super Giants posted the second-highest IPL total of all time on their way to a crushing 56-run win over the Punjab Kings in Mohali on Friday night. Spectacular contributions from Kyle Mayers, Ayush Badoni, Marcus Stoinis, and Nicholas Pooran lifted Lucknow to a mammoth first innings score of 257 for 5, the highest total in the IPL this season.

Punjab impressed in the chase on the back of Atharva Taide’s half-century, but never threatened Lucknow’s target as the Super Giants won by 56 runs to jump to second in the points table.

Having lost the toss, Lucknow flexed their batting muscle after being put in by Shikhar Dhawan on a flat wicket in Mohali. Kyle Mayers set the tone for the Super Giants’ innings, creaming Arshdeep Singh for four fours in his opening over. The left-hander also smashed the debutant Gurnoor Brar over deep mid-wicket for a couple of boundaries while also greeting Sikandar Raza with two sixes and a four.

KL Rahul, who was dropped on the first ball, departed for a lacklustre 12, but his opening partner didn’t waste a single opportunity to go on the offensive. The left-hander brought up a 20-ball half-century in the sixth over and helped Lucknow add 74 runs in the powerplay before falling to Rabada for 54.

Ayush Badoni and Marcus Stoinis carried the West Indian’s momentum into the middle period, adding 89 runs for the third wicket. The pair took 24 runs from Gurnoor Brar’s third, taking Lucknow to 107 for 2 in just eight overs and kept the runs flowing against the spinners. Badoni departed after a quickfire 24-ball 43, but Stoinis was offered a life by Punjab, with Livingstone touching the boundary ropes while taking a catch.

Stoinis made the most of this reprieve, reaching his fifty off 31 deliveries and finishing with a boundary-laden 72. Nicholas Pooran, meanwhile, scored 45 from just 19 deliveries, cracking seven fours and a six to help Lucknow score 73 in the last five overs to finish with a gargantuan total of 257 for 5.

Aiming for a record chase, Punjab lost the returning Shikhar Dhawan in the first over. Atharve Taide spared the hosts blushes with a well-compiled half-century, but the Kings failed to keep up with the astronomical asking rate. Taide got to a 26-ball half-century to take Punjab to 93 for 2 at the halfway mark, but the wickets continued to tumble as the required rate skyrocketed.

Taide departed for 62, while Sikandar Raza, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, and Jitesh Sharma managed just small cameos, with Punjab eventually bowled out for 201, finishing 56 runs short of Lucknow’s total.