Lucknow, Apr 27: After Lucknow Super Giants walked with them toe-to-toe in regulation time, Kolkata Knight Riders found a familiar saviour in Sunil Narine to register a tight Super Over victory in their IPL match here on Sunday.
Both Super Giants and Knight Riders ended up at 155 when a total of 40 overs were bowled, but Narine made all the difference in the Super Over.
Conjuring his years’ of experience, the spinner dismissed Nicholas Pooran and Aiden Markram to limit LSG to 1 for two, which was also the lowest score in a Super Over.The Kolkatans did not fumble and notched up the required two runs with Rinku Singh, who also had wonderful day on the field taking four catches, fittingly fetching the winning runs.
It was Rinku’s well-paced 83 not out off 51 balls that worked as the catalyst for KKR total of 155 for seven earlier.Once the Super Giants restricted KKR to that modest total, courtesy Mohsin Khan’s five-for, they had an excellent chance to register a rare home victory.But the hosts slipped against a set of spot-on Kolkata bowlers on a slow black soil pitch.
The result pushed KKR to eighth on the table with five points, while LSG plummeted to the bottom of the pile with four points.The Super Giants have some big names in their roster – skipper Rishabh Pant, Markram, Mitchell Marsh and Pooran.But none of them could give direction and shape to LSG’s chase.
Pant (42) and Markram (31) looked to be in good touch and they added 57 runs for the second wicket after the early departure of Marsh.But Markram fell to Cameron Green’s pace-off delivery, while Pant’s attempt to reverse scoop Narine, resulted in a catch to stumper Tim Seifert.It left LSG’s fate in the hands of a clutch of young domestic players like Ayush Badoni, Himmat Singh and Mukul Choudhary to see off the chase.
They whittled down the equation 17 off the last over with luck and pluck. Two successive no-balls by Kartik Tyagi reduced the equation to 12 off 5 balls.
But the pacer was allowed to continue to bowl even after two waist-high no balls because the second illegal delivery was deemed non-dangerous by the officials.
He jettisoned Himmat Singh, leaving LSG to make 8 off 3 balls, but Mohammed Shami’s last-ball six pushed the match into the seasons’ first Super Over.