With this win, Lucknow Super Giants dethroned Gujarat Titans and took the top spot in the points table. Both Lucknow and Gujarat have registered 8 wins in 11 matches but the K.L. Rahul-led side has a superior run rate (0.703) than Hardik Pandya’s team (0.120). On the other hand, KKR have now been pushed to the brink of elimination after their seventh defeat in 11 matches.
Brilliant knocks by Quinton de Kock and Deepak Hooda followed by a sensational performance by Avesh Khan (3/19) and Jason Holder (3/31) led Lucknow Super Giants to a dominating 75 run-win over Kolkata Knight Riders in the 53rd match of the IPL 2022 at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, here on Saturday.
Meanwhile, on a day when Shivam Mavi went for lots of runs, Avesh Khan came into his own, bowling tight lines. By the time he was done, he had registered the figures of 3 for 19. And this included the big bog wicket of Andre Russell who was threatening to go berserk.
“Goal was to get him out (Russell). Had a chat with Rahul, the talk was that if I get hit for six off a hard length ball, I’ll still back it. Have seen him get out to that length. He’s one player who can single handedly win the game. My dad always motivates me, even the coaches here, and Gautam and Rahul. Role is to take wickets and win games. The last four matches we’ve bowled second, so we have an idea of the pitch.”
Avesh Khan (3/19) and Jason Holder (3/31) were the star-performer for LSG with the ball. The likes of Ravi Bishnoi (1/31), Dushmantha Chameera (1/14), and Mohsin Khan (1/6) also picked one wicket each. Besides Russell, Khan also accounted for the wickets of Nitish Rana and Anukul Roy.
Chasing a challenging total, KKR needed a solid opening partnership but Baba Indrajith got a duck and his partner Aaron Finch got a run-a-ball 14. The likes of Shreyas Iyer (6) and Nitish Rana also couldn’t do much and got single-digit scores. Inside seven overs, KKR were reduced to 25 for 4 and the chase was out of their grasp after that.
