Lucknow Super Giants posted a 33-run win over Gujarat Titans at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Sunday.
LSG registered a total of 163 for the loss of 5 wickets in 20 overs before successfully defending it by wrapping up the GT innings for a paltry 130 runs in 18.5 overs as Yash Thakur starred with five wickets to his name. Krunal Pandya dismissed three batters, while Ravi Bishnoi and Naveen-ul-Haq picked up a wicket each.
Yash Thakur, Player of the Match, said, Happy with this five-wicket haul and Man of the Match award. I had planned against Gill, I stuck to my plan, KL Rahul had advised me to do so and it paid off. Unfortunately Mayank Yadav got injured, so KL said it was my day and asked me to make the most of it. We are winning the first game against GT in IPL history, very happy with it. Really enjoyed Gill’s wicket, the most memorable of all.
KL Rahul, LSG captain, said, We’ll take the win, I am not going to make too much out of it (on defending totals). For the young bowling unit we have, it helps when we bat first. They get an idea how the wicket is playing and they’ve also been adapting really well. It’s a good record to have (defending all 160+ totals), but it’s also where we’ve played. Having the home advantage helps. The bowlers have come through the ranks over the last couple of years. you have seen the same guys bowling in the last season as well., They have adjusted to their roles. Hopefully we can continue this. We knew that it wasn’t as good as the wicket we played on (in the previous match here), also losing two wickets in the powerplay will set us back a bit. Unless someone carries on to get 70-80, it was tough to achieve that 170-180. We just wanted to bat and see how much we can get. That’s the advantage you have when you are batting first. All three spinners have been key for us. Sid coming in this season has done really well, he plays a cr