And GT have scripted a magical win here in Lucknow. They have got the better of the home side by 7 runs in a wonderful low-scoring game. What a comeback by them, well helped by Noor Ahmad and then the Pacers. Shami was good but what beautiful bowling by Mohit Sharma. He gave only 6 in the 18th over and then defended 12 runs in the final over with ease. 2 wickets as he sent back Rahul and Stoinis. Two run-outs and LSG have given this away. What a win. LSG are denied a top spot in Points table as GT win by 7 runs. It was pleasure brining this to you, hope you enjoyed as well. I Varun Malik, sing off. Join our other match coverage of MI vs PBKS.
Mohit to Rahul, Ball 1 - 2 runs
Mohit to Rahul, Ball 2 - Rahul out!!
And KL Rahul is gone. Mohit gets the LSG captain caught at deep square leg. Stoinis comes. 10 needed of 4.
Mohit to Stoinis, Ball 3 - Stoinis gone!!
Another one bites the dust. Stoinis has gone back on first-ball. He hit it straight to long on and is gone.
Mohit to Hooda, Ball 4 - 1 run taken and run-out!
Another wicket, this is crazy stuff. Hooda hits it straight down and calls for two. But there were no 2 there and non-striker Badoni is back to the hut. 9 needed off 2 balls now. Hooda to face.
Mohit to Hooda, Ball 5 - 1 run and run out again
Mohit is doing magic for GT here. He has nailed a yorker and Hooda again went for two but this time the throw was at batters end and Hooda is gone. 8 needed off 1.
Mohit to Bishnoi, Ball 6 - Dot ball
Oh no, GT have pulled a magical win here. This came out of nowhere. GT win by 7 runs.
We are in the final over now. God, we love these final over games. What a brilliant 19th by Shami as he gives only 5 runs. Mohit Sharma to bowl the final ball. Who is going to win this?
Mohit Sharma bowls a brilliant over. He gave just 6 off the 18th over to bring the equation down to 17 off 12. He has 2 more. Meanwhile, Shami has 2 as well. And Shami comes for the all important 19th over.
We are down to the final three overs now. LSG need 23 off 18 balls. Badoni got 3 runs off his first ball, which was the last of the 17th over. Rahul still at the crease. Who will hold their nerve better?
And GT have picked another wicket as Pooran goes back. Superb bowling from young Noor Ahmad. He has got his 2nd wicket today. This is certainly not over. 26 needed off 19
Well, don't go anywhere as this one is getting close now. Runs are gone more than balls after so long. GT hanging in. Can they get Rahul to put LSG under big pressure?
Second wicket for GT as Noor Ahmad has got the wicket of Krunal Pandya. This was pitched on a good length outside off. Pandya came down the track and it spun a little bit to beat his bat. Saha does the rest behind the stumps to send LSG 2 down. Time-out is taken in the middle of the over with 30 needed in 33 balls.
Final 6 overs coming in. LSG require only 31 off 36 balls with two set batters Rahul and Krunal in the middle.
And it's fifty for another captain in the game. KL Rahul gets to his half-century now. A well-anchored knock where he hit a 38-ball fifty. Meanwhile, LSg have gone past 100 now.
Rashid Khan has been done for the day. His 4 overs went for 33 runs and got only 1 wicket. He was crucial for GT in this defence as he has good record against LSG. But LSG batters took him to the cleaners in his 1st over and hit 16 runs. He made a comeback and got Mayers but that shall not be enough unless other spinners do something really well.
We are half-way into the chase. LSG are going well and smoothly as they have hit 80/1 after 10 overs. Krunal has been promoted up the order for left-right combination and he has just hit a four off his brother Hardik. Meanwhile, Rahul is batting well and is closing in on his 50. Just 56 needed off 60 balls.
Krunal and Hardik are up against each other again in the 10th over. This time it's Krunal with the bat and Hardik with the ball.
And Krunal Pandya has been dropped by Abhinav Manohar at deep square leg. Pandya swept it and it went to Manohar but he probably did not judge it well and it hits his hands and comes off. Krunal survives a catch drop. LSG are at 73/1 after 9 and need 63 more off 66 balls.
Like his brother Hardik, Krunal now comes in at 3. There was a bit of exchange of words between hardik and Krunal. Probably, Hardik wanted to get into his mind. But it ended with Pandya's smile. Meanwhile, Krunal has survived an LBW review off Rashid Khan. Pitched just a little outside leg, was close though.
Rashid has got the first wicket. Finally some relief for GT after LSG's good start
KL Rahul has now smoked 3 fours in Shami's 2nd over. And that's 7000 T20 runs for KL Rahul. What a brilliant milestone for him.
Jayant Yadav is bowling from the other end. He is brought in to counter Kyle Mayers, who has suffered against off-spinners in this tournament. 6 from that over and Mayers hit a four between backward point and short-third on the fourth ball.
LSG openers are out in the middle. KL Rahul and Kyle Mayers will look for a solid start. Meanwhile, GT have brought their impact substitute in. Jayant Yadav comes in for Shubman Gill. Mohammed Shami starts for GT. And a maiden over by him to start with.
GT have managed to get 135 in 20 overs. This was well powered by Hardik Pandya, who made 66 off 50 balls. Saha was good at the top for his 47 off 37. But not much from any other batters as most of them struggled on this slow surface. LSG bowled well. Well led by Krunal Pandya, who ended with figures of 4-0-19-2. Two wickets for him. Meanwhile, Naveen ul-Haq, Amit Mishra and Stoinis bowled well too. Only Ravi Bishnoi was expensive today as he leaked runs at 12.20 economy in his 4 overs without a wicket. But a good effort from LSG bowlers. Can they now chase this one? They chased 122 against SRH on the same surface easily with 5 wickets in hand and inside 16 overs but can they do it today? Back with the chase.
Marcus Stoinis has come to bowl the final over and he has been sent for a six on the first ball by Pandya. Wonderful short on a good length ball over deep mid-wicket. But he has got Pandya on the next ball. A slower short-pitched ball as Pandya tried to pull it again but hits it to the longer part at long-on, wher Rahul takes an easy take. Tewatia now comes in.
Brilliant 19th over from Naveen. Just 5 from that and featured a few slower short balls to Miller. GT 126/4 after 19
Hardik Pandya has hit fifty here. A well-calculated knock by the GT skipper. A 44-ball fifty from him. A six to get there. That was a wrong-un but a bit too fuller as he finds the mid-wicket fence. Oh wait, he is not going to let any scoring chances go away. He has smoked another six in the over of Bishnoi. This time a strong pull over long-on. 19 of that over and GT are at 121 after 18.
LSG have made an impact player change. Prerak Mankad substitutes Amit Mishra.
We are now into the second time-out of the innings. GT are at 97/4 after 16 with skipper Hardik and hitter Miller out in the middle. The surface surely looks slow and LSG would be happy to see the back of 4 GT batters. But they still have a well-set Hardik in the middle. Miller is with him. Tewatia and Rashid to follow. 4 overs to go and this is where hitters love to play. Can GT get close to 150?
And now Naveen makes his name with the ball. His first IPL wicket ever. He has got Vijay Shankar clean bowled. This was a fuller one and kept it straight, Shankar wanted to slog it across the line and gets beaten. GT have lost their 4th wicket in 15 overs and are yet to cross the 100-run mark. Miller comes in to bat now.
Another strike by LSG and this time Amit Mishra gets a wicket. Pitched it well outside off. Abhinav tried going down the ground but slices it to the extra cover boundary, where Naveen grabs a brilliant diving catch to send GT 3 down.
Krunal Pandya has ended with brilliant figures. 2 wickets in his 4 overs for just 16 runs, 13 dot balls. Speaks so much that how good he can be on this sort of surface.
And Krunal Pandya gets Saha 3 short of his fifty. Saha came down the track and Krunal pulled his length back. Outside off and spun a bit. Saha had to reach for it as he flicked it but he finds Hooda at long-on. He goes back for 47.
10 overs done in the innings and GT are going well at the moment. They have hit 71 and lost just 1 wicket till now. Saha is just 3 shor of his and Pandya is going well too. LSG spinners looking for wickets but Bishnoi has been slight off so far.
14 runs have come from Bishnoi's second over. A four and a six hit by captain Hardik Pandya. A four on a short ball outside off as Pandya punched it through the covers. A fuller flighted ball later as Pandya smashed it over long-off for the first six of the match. GT are at 65/1 after 9.
Here is the end of the powerplay. GT are at 40/1 after 6 as 11 runs came from Bishnoi's first over. Saha collected two fours on the first two balls before they steadied and play the over out. This looks a fine start, considering the pitch is not the best to bat on.
GT are at 29/1 after 5 overs. Sahah and Pandya are in the middle. Saha is at 25 off 19 balls, and Hardik is at 4 off 9. Meanwhile, Bishnoi has now come to bowl the final over of the powerplay.
Hardik and Krunal have hardly faced each other in IPL. They have faced each other twice, where Hardik has scored 10 runs in 13 balls. Krunal has dismissed him once.
Shubman Gill has been caught at long-off on his second ball and departs for 0. Pitched full, outside off as Gill came down the track. But he chipped-in and did not find the timing. Bishnoi takes a safe catch. Hardik comes in to face his brother Krunal
Decent first over from Naveen. Just 4 from the opening over.
The GT openers are out in the middle. Saha and Gill would be looking for a solid start. Saha to face. Naveen starts for LSG.
GT's Wriddhiman Saha is playing his 150th IPL game. He becomes the first player from GT to feature in 150 IPL games. Can he make it count while opening in his milestone game?
GT's substitutes: Joshua Little, Jayant Yadav, Shivam Mavi, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, and Srikar Bharat
LSG's substitutes: Jaydev Unadkat, Krishnappa Gowtham, Daniel Sams, Prerak Mankad, Karan Sharma
I would have batted as well but not concerned about it. We will have to play well. We bowled against Hyderabad as well on the same surface. We would want to restrict them to a good score and chase it down. Same 12 guys for us. Yudhvir misses out, Amit Mishra comes in as he was the impact player in the last game. Trusted the 12-13 players, have had a few injuries, each game someone has put their hand up and has done the job for us. We are gelling together well and winning games. That goes hand in hand. it's been a good vibe in the dressing room.
No de Kock, Mayers and Stoinis keep their places.
KL Rahul(c), Kyle Mayers, Deepak Hooda, Marcus Stoinis, Krunal Pandya, Nicholas Pooran(w), Ayush Badoni, Naveen-ul-Haq, Amit Mishra, Avesh Khan, Ravi Bishnoi
Noor is in, Joseph is out. Sudharsan misses as Shankar comes in.
Wriddhiman Saha(w), Shubman Gill, Hardik Pandya(c), Vijay Shankar, Abhinav Manohar, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Mohammed Shami, Noor Ahmad, Mohit Sharma
We will be batting first. It looks a slow track, we want to get the best out of it. There is no time to test our batters now. I am sure LSG would have batted first as well if they won the toss. Although we chase well, we are batting first today. Alzarri misses out, Noor Ahmad comes in.
Hardik Pandya wins toss and he has opted to bat first. Alzarri Joseph is out and Noor Ahmad comes in
Big News coming in. Noor Ahmad is debuting today. He played in the previous game against RR as an impact player but will be in the XI. Rashid presented the cap.
LSG are facing a selection dilemma over how to play Quinton de Kock. They have Mayers, Stoinis, Pooran, and Wood/Naveen as their four overseas stars but are failing to field their star opener de Kock. He was training in the practice session, but it looks difficult that he will still get a game today.
For GT, they have players who contributed well from top to bottom. While Gill provides start, Sai Sudharsan anchors the innings at 3. They have firepower in David Miller, Rahul Tewatia and Hardik Pandya.
In the bowling department, GT have been bolstered by Rashid Khan and Mohammed Shami. However, they would look to defend the totals as they have lost both the games while defending.
LSG have power in their middle order. While Rahul plays the anchor, Mayers has fired on a few occasions. But the finishers like Nicholas Pooran, Marcus Stoinis, and Ayush Badoni have been instrumental in LSG's batting. Their bowling is led by contributions from a few guys. While Mark Wood is the second leading wicket taker in the tournament so far, the likes of Bishnoi and Avesh Khan have chipped in with wickets too.
GT have won 3 games in their 5 encounters. They have lost to Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders in some absolute nail-biters.
Lucknow are on second in the points table with 4 wins in 5 games. They have lost from only CSK this season.
LSG's squad:
KL Rahul (c), Nicholas Pooran (wk), Kyle Mayers, Deepak Hooda, Marcus Stoinis, Krunal Pandya, Ayush Badoni, Naveen-ul-Haq, Avesh Khan, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Ravi Bishnoi, Amit Mishra, Jaydev Unadkat, Manan Vohra, Mark Wood, Quinton de Kock, Krishnappa Gowtham, Swapnil Singh, Prerak Mankad, Yash Thakur, Daniel Sams, Romario Shepherd, Karan Sharma, Mayank Yadav
GT's squad:
Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Hardik Pandya (c), Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Abhinav Manohar, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Alzarri Joseph, Mohammed Shami, Mohit Sharma, Noor Ahmad, Pradeep Sangwan, Matthew Wade, Jayant Yadav, Vijay Shankar, Dasun Shanaka, Srikar Bharat, Joshua Little, Odean Smith, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Shivam Mavi, Darshan Nalkande, Urvil Patel, Yash Dayal
KL Rahul's Lucknow Super Giants will be up against Hardik Pandya's Gujarat Titans in the 30th match of IPL 2023. Hello and a Warm Welcome to everyone to the first match of the Saturday double-header. I Varun Malik will take you across this action-packed game. So, sit back in your comfort and enjoy the journey.
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