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Lucknow Super Giants' (LSG) rocked Punjab Kings (PBKS) by 56 runs as Shikhar Dhawan's men couldn't stand the run tsunami launched by Marcus Stoinis, Kyle Mayers and Nicholas Pooran their Indian Premier League (IPL) clash at the IS Bindra Stadium on Friday (April 28).
LSG's batters ran riot on PBKS bowlers as Stoinis (72 off 40), Mayers (54 off 24) and Pooran's (45 off 19) blistering knocks powered KL Rahul-led side to a mammoth total of 257/5 and hence recorded the second highest total in the IPL history. In reply, PBKS did manage to go past 200-run mark but ran out of steam while chasing a colossal total and were reduced to 201 despite Atharva Taide's fighting 66 off 36. LSG missed out on RCB's record of 263 which came in IPL 2013 when they put up the colossal total against Pune Warriors India (PWI) which saw Chris Gayle unleashing the beast in him with a scintillating 175-run knock.
After put to bat first, Lucknow batters made the best use of the betler pitch and launched blitzkrieg from the word go. Mayer whacked PBKS' bowlers all around the pack and notched 74 runs in the powerplay despite losing skipper Rahul (12 off 9) in the fourth over. Mayers too went back to pavilion in the sixth over after causing an avalanche with the bat as the first two wickets were picked by the same bowler, Kagiso Rabada.
But Ayush Badoni (43 off 24) combined with Stoinis to make sure LSG don't lose momentum as the duo stitched together 89 off 47 for the third wicket. Pooran was the next to join the hitting exhibition as he smoked three consecutive fours through covers off Liam Livingstone and played some power-packed shots down the ground to help LSG go past 250-run mark.
Meanwhile, PBKS got off to a patchy start while chasing a colossal target of 258. PBKS skipper Dhawan, who made a comeback after sitting out for three matches due to injury, failed to go big and was given the marching orders by the star of the match Stoinis in the very first over.
With PBKS' hopes dashed, Atharva Taide showed the fighting spirit and clobbered a brilliant 66 off 36 which was studded with eight fours and two sixes.
Taide combined with Sikandar Raza (36) and stitched together a 78-run partnership for the third wicket. However, the due didn't last long and with Taide's in the 13th over PBKS' chase fizzled out.
For LSG, pacers Yash Thakur (four for 37) and Naveen-ul-Haq (three for 30) shared seven wickets, while leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi took the crucial wickets of Taide and Livingstone.
It was LSG's fifth win in eight matches while PBKS suffered their fourth loss in eight games. LSG rose to second spot in the points table while PBKS are placed sixth with eight points in as many matches.
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