LSG Prevail over MI
Lucknow Super Giants and Mumbai Indians squared up at the Wankhede Stadium to play out their final match of the IPL 2024 season, last night. Mumbai already eliminated were looking to redeem themselves in front of a packed stadium, while Lucknow, with a slimmer than ever chance of making the play-offs, looked determined to give their best. An exciting contest ensued and eventually Lucknow’s resilience prevailed over a late surge from the Mumbai Indians.
A Forgettable IPL For MI
An overwhelmingly underperforming Mumbai Indians finished at the bottom of the table losing 10 of the 14 games they played. Hardik Pandya their new captain failed to impress with the bat, with the ball, with his captaincy and with his extremely made up body language. For once, the MI fans expressed their displeasure with gay abandon. It was a forgettable IPL for Mumbai and their worst ever. A team rebuild must be on the cards.
The Net Run Rate Misery For LSG
My team Lucknow Super Giants in their third year, had a chequered season. From a position of strength, the Super Giants suddenly lost steam. Two mighty losses, one to KKR at home ( by 98 runs ) and one to SRH in Hyderabad ( SRH reaching the target of 165 in just 9.4 overs ), more or less sealed their fate. Their net run rate took a serious hammering and came crashing down. All the hard work in securing two back-to-back exceptional wins against CSK was washed away in two timid performances.
An Under Pressure KL
7 wins and 7 losses were the returns for Lucknow and indeed there was something amiss. Quick runs from the batters upfront were woefully missing. With The T20 game changing so quickly, playing the old routine was just not good enough. Quinton was well below par, Devdutt Padikkal just didn’t show up ( he scored just 38 runs in 7 outings ) and had a terrible season. Hooda and Badoni played well only in spurts. KL Rahul though scored 530 runs, his strike rate was 136 only which unfortunately was uninspiring (cost him a place in the T20 World Cup team), and fuelled the pressure on him which resonated adversely.
Mayank Yadav : The Super Speedster
Eventually it was left to Stoinis’ (388 runs at a strike rate of 147) and Pooran’s (499 runs at a strike rate of 178) bravado to bailout Lucknow time and time again, which was a mighty difficult ask. Bowlers barring Mayank Yadav ( he bowled with fiery pace and exceptional control) leaked runs too many, their economy rates will tell the story ( Mohsin Khan 10.13, Naveen ul Haq 10.19 , Arshad Khan 11.21, Yash Thakur 11.32 ) Ravi Bishnoi was Lucknow’s go to bowler and a real threat but could scalp only 10 wickets in 14 matches, much below expectations. The fielding too, particularly the catching was at times average at best.
The Missing Intensity
Lucknow had a great chance to go through to the play-offs but that spark was missing. Whenever the team needed a flash of intensity so desperately, it just never arrived. The team looked subdued when they were required to be aggressive. There is no doubt that T20 is a game of intensities, wherein you have to carry your aggression on your sleeve, all the time.
Magical Pooran
Coming to the match, Nicolas Pooran again played a remarkable innings and scored 75 off just 29 balls to help LSG reach a respectable total. His striking was sublime, and a treat to watch. The power and finesse in his strokeplay make him an absolute game changer. What an Asset he has been for Lucknow.
Curtains…but on a High
It is finally curtains for Lucknow as the tournament moves into the play-offs. However, a well earned victory to close out the campaign is much cherished and augurs well for the team going forward. It is still a learning curve for the Super Giants from Lucknow.
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Featured Image : Nicholas Pooran post LSG’s victory over MI