In a stop-and-start, rain-interrupted game, Mitchell Marsh shone under the lights in Lucknow. Mitchell Marsh dazzled in Lucknow as his superlative second IPL ton, alongside support from the other batters, meant LSG got to 209/3 in 19 overs, with the game hampered by rain breaks thrice. RCB had a mixed day with the ball and now must bat out of their skins to chase 213 runs to win in 19 overs.
Mitchell Marsh’s blazing half-century gives LSG a rollicking start in power play.Â
Put into bat first, Mitchell Marsh and Arshin Kulkarni came out to bat for LSG while Bhuvneshwar Kumar had the ball in hand for RCB. Bhuvneshwar bowled a decent first over. Josh Hazlewood came into the attack from the other end. Marsh took on Hazelwood and lofted it down the ground for the maximum. Rain halted play after 1.3 overs for the first time for 10 minutes.
Hazlewood came back to complete his over as Marsh got underneath it and lofted it over mid-off for the maximum. Bhuvneshwar continued and dropped a tough return chance of his own bowling. Marsh took on Bhuvneshwar as he played the lofted drive over covers for the maximum. Krunal Pandya came into the attack next. Marsh then thrashed him through the covers for a boundary. Marsh then swung the ball away with a slog over wide long-on for the maximum.
Rasikh Salam came into the attack next. Marsh welcomed him with a maximum as he pulled it over square leg for the maximum. He went again and lofted down the ground just over Cox for the maximum. The 50 came up for LSG in 4.2 overs. Marsh hit Rasikh again off the back foot through cover point and backward point for a boundary. Hazlewood changed ends to bowl the last over of power play. Marsh thrashed it away by staying leg side and punched the ball past backward point for a boundary to get to his fifty in just 20 balls.
Marsh then got a streaky boundary with a drive down the ground and got an inside edge past the stumps for a boundary. Marsh got another boundary away to end the power play. He drove on the up between covers and cover point for a boundary. At the end of the power play, LSG were 68/0 with Marsh unbeaten on 58 off 24 balls while Kulkarni was unbeaten on 8 off 12 balls. The Strategic Time Out was taken as well with that.
Mitchell Marsh’s unbeaten hundred keeps LSG ahead before rain plays spoilsport after 14 overs.Â
Suyash Sharma came into the attack post the power play and break. Marsh took him on by going deep in the crease and pulled it over midwicket for the maximum. Kulkarni got his first boundary away with a cut behind square for a boundary to the backward point. Krunal came to bowl his second over. Marsh took advantage of a poor delivery by throwing his hands at it and cutting it away past the backward point for a boundary.
Suyash continued. Marsh found the gap by rocking back and pulled it away between deep midwicket and long-on for a boundary. LSG reached 95/0 in 9 overs when we had another rain interruption. This interrupted play for 47 minutes till we resumed again with no overs lost.
Krunal Pandya came into the attack post the break, and Kulkarni was dismissed for 17 off 24 balls with one four to his name as he uppishly hit it to Patidar at covers, who took a good catch. Nicholas Pooran came out to bat next. He got off the mark soon. After 10 overs at the halfway stage of the game, LSG were 98/1. Salam continued as the 100 came up for LSG in 10.2 overs.
Pooran got into the act as he leaned forward and opened the bat face and square drove it past the left of backward point for a boundary. Pooran pressed forward and creamed it through covers for a boundary. Hazlewood came back into the attack next. He bowled a very good 12th over, giving away 6 singles in 6 balls. Krunal came to bowl his final over as Marsh went straight down the ground for the maximum over long-on. Pandya bowled a decent over in the end.
Romario Shepherd came into the attack to bowl the 14th over. He started it off by gifting 4 leg byes away to the batting side. Marsh then cleared his front boot and drove it over the bowler’s head for a boundary. Then he got to his ton with a boundary as he converted the ball to a low full toss and drove it past the point region for a boundary and got to his second IPL hundred off just 49 balls. Marsh took on Shepherd as he shuffled across the stumps to press forward and got underneath it to slam it over deep covers for the maximum. 20 off the over.
LSG raced to 145/1 in 14 overs with Marsh unbeaten on 107 off 51 balls alongside Pooran unbeaten on 14 off 9 balls, when rain stopped play. We are off the field, and with time already lost, we may have a reduced first innings and game. We are awaiting official confirmation.
Late overs flourish takes LSG to 209/3 in 19 overs in a rain-curtailed match.Â
Rasikh Salam had the ball in hand after the break as Pooran slammed him away past backward point for a boundary as the 150 came up for LSG in 14.5 overs. Bhuvneshwar Kumar came back into the attack next. Padikkal dropped a tough catch in the deep. Pooran then pummelled Bhuvneshwar over midwicket for the maximum. The strategic Time Out was taken after 16 overs.
Josh Hazlewood came back into the attack next, and he bowled a low full toss which Marsh hit straight to Jacob Bethell for 111 off 56 balls with 9 fours and 9 sixes to his name. Captain Rishabh Pant came out to bat next. Pant got off the mark as he tickled it away for a boundary to the fine leg region. Pant then swung hard and sliced it over backward point for a boundary. Bethell then hurt his finger and rushed off the field. Pant took on Hazlewood and smashed it down the ground over wide long-off for the maximum.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar came back into the attack. Pooran got a streaky boundary away as he got a thick outside edge that beat Hazlewood at short third man for a boundary. Krunal Pandya then dropped Pooran in the deep off Bhuvneshwar. Rasikh Salam came to bowl the last over of the innings, and he got rid of Pooran for 38 off 23 balls with 4 fours and one six to his name as he heaved it to deep forward square leg.
Aiden Markram came out to bat next and got off the mark as well. Pant then decided to finish things off in style as he first pulled the ball to square leg for a boundary and then hammered it to wide long-off for a boundary. The 200 came up for LSG in 18.5 overs. Pant then finished things off in style with a reverse sweep over backward point for the maximum as 16 runs came off the over. LSG finished with 209/3 in 19 overs with Pant unbeaten on 32 off 10 balls with 4 fours and 2 sixes to his name, while Markram was unbeaten on 1 off 1 ball. 10 extras given by the fielding side.
RCB had a mixed day in the field and with the ball. Krunal Pandya finished with 1/31 in 4 overs. Josh Hazlewood finished with 1/49 in 4 overs. Rasikh Salam finished with 1/53 in 4 overs. Bhuvneshwar Kumar finished with 0/34 in 4 overs. Suyash Sharma went for 21 runs in 2 overs. Romario Shepherd finished with 16 runs in his only over. RCB now had a revised target of 213 runs to win off 19 overs, thanks to the DLS method.
Who’s Winning, RCB or LSG?Â
LSG has got the runs on the board as the target is 213 runs in 19 overs. If they bowl well, they can trouble RCB and beat them. RCB have a good batting line-up. If RCB gets going and Kohli fires, they will win this game for sure. This can still go either way. Let’s see what the chase has in store for us.
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