IPL 2022: KL Rahul triumphs over good friend Mayank Agarwal as LSG beat PBKS by 20 runs

Match 42 of the IPL 2022 edition saw two good friends KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal lock horns with each other as the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) faced the rusty and inconsistent Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the MCA Stadium, Pune on Friday evening (April 29).

Opting to bowl first, Mayank-led PBKS got rid of in-form skipper Rahul (6). From thereon, Quinton de Kock and Deepak Hooda, promoted at No. 3, steadied the ship and the runs started coming after a brief period. Against the run of play, Sandeep Sharma dismissed De Kock and Lucknow's slide started after his departure. From 104-2, they were soon reduced to 111-6. Their middle-order batters, such as Marcus Stoinis, Krunal Pandya and Ayush Badoni, looked in a hurry as they fell cheaply with Kagiso Rabada doing the bulk of the damage.

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Just when one thought that Lucknow will struggle to get past the 150-run mark, cameos from pacers Dushmantha Chameera and Mohsin Khan propelled LSG to 153-8. Rabada and Rahul Chahar were the pick of the bowlers but Punjab would have felt they could've restricted Lucknow to somewhere close to 140.

In reply, Punjab were off to a good start courtesy of captain Mayank (17-ball 25) before he and Shikhar Dhawan fell cheaply. Chameera did the early damage and was complemented by Ravi Bishnoi before Mohsin Khan's breakthroughs pushed Punjab out of the contest. Liam Livingstone and Jonny Bairstow challenged for a bit but Rahul's proactive captaincy and good fielding from Lucknow took them homeby 20 runs with PBKS managing only 133-8 (despite Rishi Dhawan's late strikes).

The newcomers now have 12 points and take the third spot in the points table.