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After playing a crucial hand of 43 for the Lucknow Super Giants's (LSG) against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in an IPL clash on Saturday, all-rounder Krunal Pandya said that if they bowl 'smartly' then they could defend the target of 200 runs.
Pandya played a pivotal role for the Lucknow-based franchise in the first inning as he added some crucial runs at the end of the first 20 overs. He scored 43 runs after 22 balls at a strike rate of 195.45. The batting all-rounder slammed 4 fours and 2 sixes. While speaking at the mid-inning break, Pandya said that he was prepared to help his team with the bat. He called himself 'flexible' for being able to bat anywhere between third and seventh place. Taking about the pitch in Lucknow, he added that the surface has changed from last year and it is much better now. "I like to play situations, I am prepared that way, I am quite flexible, can bat anywhere from number 3 to number 7. Just want to go out there and contribute. I like to prepare, take cricket as an exam. Like to prepare, but the result is not in my hand. 199 is a good total, if we bowl smartly, we can defend this. The surface has changed, much better than last year. Need to adapt to the conditions. Need to bowl accordingly and see how it goes," Pandya said. Recapping the first inning of the match, after winning the toss, Lucknow decided to bat first. Following this, Quinton de Kock (54 runs from 38 balls) and KL Rahul (15 runs from 9 balls) opened for the hosts and could only place a partnership of 35 runs. The opening partnership was broken after Arshdeep Singh made the first breakthrough of the game in the 4th over as he dismissed Rahul. Soon after losing three wickets, LSG's stand-in skipper, Nicholas Pooran (42 runs from 21 balls), made a solid partnership and helped the hosts add a few runs on the board. The partnership was broken after Arshdeep picked up his second wicket of the match after dismissing De Kock in the 14th over. On the other hand, Curran led the Punjab bowling attack as he picked up three wickets in his four-over spell. Arshdeep Singh bagged two wickets after delivering three overs. Kagiso Rabada and Rahul Chahar could manage to take just one wicket in their respective spells. The visitors need to make 200 runs from 20 overs to win the match against Lucknow. (ANI)
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