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Following his side's two-wicket loss to Punjab Kings (PBKS) at home, Lucknow Super Giants skipper KL Rahul said his side fell 10 runs short while batting and they could have scored around 180-190 had other players capitalised on good starts they got.
A fighting half-century from Sikandar Raza and an entertaining cameo by Shahrukh Khan powered Punjab Kings to a hard-fought two-wicket win over Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match at Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow on Saturday. "I think we were about 10 runs short towards the end. The dew came in and it seemed to help the batters a little bit more. We did not execute well with the ball. When you are playing on a new ground and a new pitch, you cannot rely on the previous games. We take it as it comes, assess it on the go and do not really set ourselves a target. If a couple of batters get in, play good knocks, we can get to 180-190. Unfortunately, today, a few of the batters hit good shots but got caught just on the boundary line. On another day, we would have got those 10-15 runs extra that would have made the difference," said Rahul in a post-match presentation. LSG posted 159/8 in their 20 overs after being put to bat first by PBKS. KL Rahul found form, scoring 74 in 56 consisting of eight fours and a six. Kyle Mayers (29), Krunal Pandya (18) and Marcus Stoinis (15) made some other notable contributions for their side to help them reach a modest total. They failed to convert their solid starts into impactful knocks. Sam Curran was the pick of the bowlers for PBKS, taking 3/31 in his four overs. Kagiso Rabada also took 2/34 in his four overs. Arshdeep Singh, Sikandar Raza and Harpreet Brar took one scalp each. Chasing 160, PBKS was reduced to 75/4, with a counter-attacking knock coming from Matthew Short (34 in 22 balls with five fours and a six). A half-century from Sikandar Raza (57 off 41 balls with four boundaries and three sixes) and Harpreet Bhatia (22) kept the game alive for PBKS. A cameo of 23* (10) balls from Shahrukh Khan helped PBKS clinch a two-wicket win. Yudhvir Singh was the pick of the bowlers for LSG, taking 2/19 in three overs. Mark Wood took 2/35 in his four overs. Ravi Bishnoi also got two scalps while Krisnappa Gowtham and Krunal Pandya got one wicket each. Raza clinched the 'Player of the Match' award for his match-winning all-round show. With this win, PBKS has jumped to the fourth position in the points table with three wins and two losses in five matches. They have a total of six points. LSG is in second position with a similar win-loss record, but they have an inferior net run rate which puts them below toppers Rajasthan Royals. Brief Scores: LSG: 159/8 (KL Rahul 74, Kyle Mayers 29, Sam Curran 3/31) lost against PBKS: 161/8 in 19.3 overs (Sikandar Raza 57, Matthew Short 34, Yudhvir Singh 2/19). (ANI)
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