CHENNAI: Debutant pacer Mayank Yadav impressed with his high pace to take three crucial wickets as Lucknow Super Giants beat Punjab Kings by 21 runs at their home ground on Saturday.
Chasing 200, Punjab got off to a flying start, with Shikhar Dhawan and Jonny Bairstow adding 102 runs in 11.4 overs before the latter got out for 42 runs from 29 balls. Prabhsimran Singh (19 from 7) did not last long and neither did Jitesh Sharma (6 off 9).
Turning the heat on them was the young pace sensation Mayank. The Delhi pacer consistently clocked over 150 KPH, troubling the Punjab batters with his short pitched bowling and pace. He took three wickets for just 27 runs, putting Lucknow in a commanding position despite Dhawan’s fifty.
At this point, PBKS needed 60 of 24 balls with Liam Livingstone and Dhawan in the middle. The Punjab captain and Sam Curran were dismissed off consecutive deliveries from Mohsin Khan, adding to the misery.
Livingstone (28 n.o off 17) and Shashank Singh tried their best but it was too much to catch up as Punjab fell short by 21 runs.Earlier, Lucknow lost KL Rahul early. Coming in as an Impact Player, the India batter got out for 15 from nine balls. Once Rahul got out, Devdutt Padikkal tried to take on Kagiso Rabada, hitting two fours. But, in an attempt to hit Sam Curran down the ground, Padikkal hit one straight to the mid-off fielder.
In came Marcus Stoinis as he and Quinton de Kock (54) tried to accumulate for a couple of overs. Just when it looked like Stoinis was going to get going, Rahul Chahar cleaned up the Australian. That is when Nicholas Pooran (42) joined De Kock in the middle. Together, they kept the momentum going. Although De Kock got out after his fifty, Pooran did not slow down. He raced to 41 off just 21 balls before getting out to Rabada. Krunal Pandya (43) provided the late boost,taking LSG to 199/8 in 20 overs.
Brief scores: LSG 199/8 in 20 overs (De Kock 54, Pooran 42; Curran 3/28) bt PBKS 178/5 in 20 overs (Dhawan 70, Bairstow 42; Mayank 3/27).