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Lucknow Super Giants were undefeated against Kolkata Knight Riders ahead of IPL 2024. However, under Gautam Gambhir, the two-time champions looked ruthless as they defeated Lucknow twice in the 17th edition of the tournament. Even though it’s the players who deserve all the credit for obvious reasons but some of the decisions that Gambhir has made have worked wonders for them this season and courtesy of the same, KKR registered a mammoth win over Lucknow at Ekana Stadium.
Batting first, the opening pair of Phil Salt and Sunil Narine once again gave a perfect start to the visitors. They sticthed a partnership of 61 runs, which set the tone of the game for KKR. After Salt walked back to the pavilion scoring 32 runs off 14 deliveries, Narine took over and made 81 runs off 39 balls. Angkrish Raghuvanshi supported him well and towards the fag end, Ramandeep Singh played a sensational cameo of 22 runs off eight balls, which helped KKR post a mammoth total of 235 runs.
When it came to the chase, Lucknow batters never looked comfortable. KKR bowlers kept them under control and on top of that, the fielders were terrific on the night. Ramandeep arguably picked up the catch of the tournament to dismiss Arshin Kulkarni while Salt and Varun Chakravarthy were good as well. Chakravarthy meanwhile picked up three wickets and so did the returning Harshit Rana, while Andre Russell picked up two as KKR won by 98 runs.
Also Check: IPL 2024 Points Table
1. Freak Sunil Narine
Sunil Narine has been an absolute freak in IPL 2024. He has smashed 81 runs against LSG and overall, has 461 runs to his name and is currently third on the Orange Cap list. He is picking wickets for fun as well and has been extremely economical. He is currently leading the race as the MVP of the season and if Narine keeps up with the form, KKR can once again challenge for the title.
2. Ramandeep Singh making significant impact
Ramandeep Singh has already played some very good cameos for KKR in the limited opportunities. He has been a gun on the field and the management will be extremely happy with the performance of the all-rounder. Even though the all-rounder has played for MI previously, he has lived to his potential this time around.
3. Varun Chakravarthy is unstoppable
Varun Chakravarthy was once again the star performer for KKR with the ball. On a pitch that was not favouring spinners as much, Varun picked up three wickets and got the job done for the KKR.
Also Check: IPL Purple Cap - Most Wickets
Losing skipper KL Rahul said:
It was a lot of runs to be scored in the second innings. When you are chasing a big total, you are trying to go too hard and you end up losing wickets. Just a poor performance overall. We didn't (hit our lengths on a consistent basis), just been a poor performance overall with bat, ball and in the field. Sunil Narine and Phil Salt, in the powerplay, we've seen how they bat and they do put a lot of pressure on the opposition. Our young bowlers couldn't handle that kind of pressure and he hit some really good shots. That's how IPL is, you come up against really good players and that's when your character is tested. We weren't up to the mark. The wicket was really good, felt like a pretty true wicket, there was a bit of bounce if you bowled hard lengths and back of a lengths, but nothing out of the ordinary and it didn't seem like a pitch that was really bad. 235 was probably 20 or 30 runs above par and our batting performance was really poor. When you're chasing such a big score, you're under pressure, it's always hard. We prepare well in advance and talk about the opposition batters, we know our conditions here and we do spend a little bit of time talking to the bowlers and talking to the batters trying to see what kind of plans we need to come up with. Once we come here, it's about execution and we went wrong in that part. Bowlers tried their best but the young group really ... the sooner you learn, the better it for the team. We've made a couple of mistakes when we've come up against batters like Sunil and anyone that's powerful. That type of intimidation puts pressure on our bowlers. That'll be the chat once we get back to the dressing room - move on from this game, see where we went wrong and try and get better. This is our last home game for us, so we are on the road for the next three games. It's pretty clear for us, if you want to get to the top four, you got to win all the games. That will give us a little bit of freedom to go out there and be a little bit more fearless, little bit brave to take on the game
Winning skipper Shreyas Iyer said:
The last 6 matches in the dressing room there has been havoc, teammates are coming in and asking skip what's happening, we are losing tosses, we are winning games that matters. We had a great start in the powerplay. A lefty-righty combination makes thing difficult for the opposition. It's all about the freedom, to go out and express themselves. We want to go out and be positive whatever the situation is, sometimes it doesn't work out but sometimes it does. They have been splending for us, the way they are playing their shots is pure bliss. They are setting us up and giving is momentum and no matter what the situation is, we are playing with a positive mindset.
POTM Sunil Narine said:
The most important thing is starting well and it's good to have the backing of the support staff. I think you have to pick your strengths and pick your spots, sometimes it works out. It's going very well, Varun is picking up wickets, it's making my job easier to keep things tight. He is a hard worker. The boys are anxious and eager to play, so no matter what the situation is they are contributing for us.
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