Slams third ton vs IPL giants and 2nd of the season as LSG hand Mumbai their 8th loss
It seemed to be a repeat of what happened a week back. In the first leg against Mumbai Indians, Lucknow Super Giants skipper KL Rahul had scored an unbeaten 103 off 60 balls at the Brabourne Stadium. On Sunday, a kilometre down the road, at the Wankhede Stadium, Rahul smashed 103 off 62 balls (12x4, 4x6) to propel LSG to a competitive total of 168/6 against MI in the return leg between the two sides.
The chase was a stuttering one. Rohit Sharma (39 off 31b; 5x4, 1x6) went off the blocks quickly, but at the other end, Ishan Kishan endured a horrible stay at the crease. Kishan scored 8 off 20 balls and just didn't find his timing. In the next four overs after Kishan's departure, MI lost the wickets of Dewald Brevis, Rohit and Suryakumar Yadav in quick succession.
At 67/4, a win for Mumbai was an uphill task. Tilak Varma (38 off 27b; 2x4, 2x6) and Kieron Pollard (19 off 20b; 1x6) added 57 for the fifth wicket but it proved too big a mountain to climb. In the end, Mumbai fell short by 36 runs.
In the first half, Rahul was in imperious form. On a pitch that was holding up a bit, he played his strokes with ease. Rahul cut, pulled, played the cover drive, and also used the long handle in the slog overs with aplomb.
Consider this: if Rahul ended with a strike-rate of 166.12, the next best was Ayush Badoni, who scored his 14 runs (off 11 balls) at a strike-rate of 127.27.
All other batters found the going tough. Rahul's opening partner, Quinton de Kock mishit a low full-toss from Jasprit Bumrah straight to Rohit Sharma at short cover. The big-hitting South African could manage a 9-ball 10.
1/10:Lucknow beat Mumbai
<p>Skipper KL Rahul's unbeaten 103 and disciplined bowling helped Lucknow Super Giants to a resounding win over IPL powerhouse Mumbai Indians who remain winless this season. (BCCI/IPL/PTI Photo)</p>
2/10:Rahul's second ton of IPL 2022
<p>Rahul's second ton of this edition steered Lucknow to 168/6, a total their bowlers defended by restricting Mumbai to 132/8 at the Wankhede Stadium. (BCCI/IPL/PTI Photo)</p>
3/10:Winless Mumbai Indians
<p>Mumbai slipped to their eighth straight loss to stay bottom of the 10-team table. (BCCI/IPL Photo)</p>
4/10:Leading from the front
<p>The in-form Rahul stood out for Lucknow as he put on 58 runs with Manish Pandey and then a 25-ball 47 with Ayush Badoni for the sixth wicket. (BCCI/IPL/PTI Photo)</p>
5/10:Rahul's 4th IPL ton
<p>Badoni hit 14 off 11 balls to boost the team total with Rahul reaching his fourth IPL hundred with a six off Riley Meredith, who took two wickets, in the final over. (BCCI/IPL/PTI Photo)</p>
6/10:Kieron Pollard
<p>Kieron Pollard hurt Lucknow's batting with the key wickets of Pandey, for 22, and Krunal Pandya for one in his two overs to return figures of 2/8. (BCCI/IPL/ANI Photo)</p>
7/10:Rohit Sharma
<p>But Mumbai faltered in their chase to lose regular wickets despite a 31-ball 39 from Rohit who fell to Krunal's left-arm spin after five fours and one six. (BCCI/IPL/PTI Photo)</p>
8/10:Ayush Badoni
<p>Part-time spinner Ayush Badoni got Suryakumar Yadav for seven as Mumbai slipped to 67/4 in 11.2 overs. (BCCI/IPL/PTI Photo)</p>
9/10:Jason Holder
<p>Tilak Varma and Pollard attempted to raise hopes of a chase in their 57-run partnership that was finally broken by Jason Holder. (BCCI/IPL/PTI Photo)</p>
10/10:Krunal and Kieron
<p>Holder took down Varma for 38 and Pollard fell to Krunal in the final over as a glum Mumbai side and their fans at the Wankhede sauntered off. (BCCI/IPL/PTI Photo)</p>Next in, Manish Pandey could hit a solitary six in his 22 (off 22 balls) before top-edging a slower bouncer from Kieron Pollard; the resulting catch was pouched at short fine leg by Riley Meredith. The positive aspect about Pandey's stay at the crease was the 58-run partnership between him and Rahul.
Marcus Stoinis didn't last long too. The Aussie allrounder smacked a slower short ball from Daniel Sams directly to Tilak Varma at deep midwicket. Pollard then nipped out Krunal Pandya immediately. Another off-cutter by the burly West Indian, and Pandya dragged a pull from outside the off-stump to Hrithik Shokeen at deep midwicket.
Deepak Hooda too was deceived by a short, slower delivery. This time Riley Meredith put it into good use. Hooda's wicket was nearly a carbon copy of Pandey's earlier dismissal; only this time the catcher at short fine leg was Dewald Brevis.
At this point, Lucknow were struggling to get to the 150-run mark. But a quickfire 47-run partnership (off 25 balls) between Rahul and Badoni made sure the team reached a respectable total.
