In a match between two of the IPL’s bottom-placed teams, the Kolkata Knight Riders defeated the Lucknow Super Giants via Super Overs in Lucknow on Sunday.
LSG suffered a batting collapse while chasing a modest 156, but they were still able to level the match and advance to the Super Over thanks to a last-ball six from No. 9 Mohammed Shami against a wayward Kartik Tyagi who gave up 16 runs in the last over.
However, Sunil Narine bowled a magnificent Super Over, giving KKR an easy target while allowing only one run and collecting two wickets.
After that, Rinku Singh completed the chase with a boundary off Prince Yadav’s opening ball.
Earlier, Lucknow Super Giants pacer Mohsin Khan took five wickets to restrict three-time winners Kolkata Knight Riders to 155/7.
Ajinkya Rahane, Tim Seifert, Cameron Green, Rovman Powell, and Anukul Roy were all taken out by Mohsin’s 5/23, which was a personal best for the left-arm pacer in this format and tore apart KKR.
KKR scored 43 runs in the final two overs to surpass the 150-run threshold thanks to a well-paced fifty from Rinku Singh (83 not out, 51 balls), who also hammered Mohammed Shami for 6, 4, 4 in the 19th over and hit four consecutive sixes against spinner Digvesh Rathi.
Mohsin’s bowling philosophy was based on straightforward strategies: either utilize cutters at different speeds to keep the batters guessing, or bang the ball into the black soil pitch to gain bounce.
Mohsin demonstrated his versatility in two dismissals after beginning the evening with a wicket maiden. As the batter attempted to go over the covers, he followed Rahane with a fuller ball, but the KKR captain was forced by the ball’s trajectory to simply slice it up for an easy catch for Aiden Markram.
When Green, who appeared at ease while hitting George Linde for two consecutive sixes, slammed him for a massive maximum, the 27-year-old remained composed. Green (34) was challenged to go for the pull after Mohsin dug one short two balls later, and the Australian all-rounder accepted the bait.
Green was only able to loft the ball to wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant, proving that the into-the-body angle was effective once more. A fifth wicket partnership worth 42 with Rinku Singh was likewise terminated by Green’s dismissal.
As if the current chaos weren’t enough, KKR also had to deal with the disappointment of witnessing Angkrish Raghuvanshi being sent out for obstructing the field. Raghuvanshi poked one towards mid-on on the last ball of Prince Yadav’s fifth over and attempted a single, but Green sent him back.
In an attempt to save himself, Raghuvanshi dove, but he got in the way of Shami’s throw. The batter was eventually dismissed in an unusual way when third umpire Rohit Pandit granted LSG’s appeal and determined that the batter’s turning radius was greater than necessary.
