Lucknow

Despite a captain's knock from Shikhar Dhawan (70), Punjab Kings (PBKS) suffered a 21-run defeat against home side Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the Ekana Stadium on Saturday (Mar 20) evening. While the win was satisfying, it was the emergence of another young pacer, capable of bowling 150+ thunderbolts that must have delighted the LSG and Indian cricket fans alike. 

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Mayank Yadav, playing his debut IPL match, bowled the fastest ball of the tournament at 155.8 kmph before sending off Bairstow to the pavilion on the very next delivery. In the process, he broke the 102-run opening stand between the Englishman and Dhawan. 

After Bairstow's departure, the PBKS innings never really recovered and Yadav was at the heart of it. His performance rejuvenated the LSG fielders who had been deflated by the pyrotechnics from the opening duo. 

The blistering pace of the 21-year-old ensured that other bowlers took inspiration. Mohsin Khan took the big wickets of Dhawan and Sam Curran in consecutive deliveries which completely broke the PBKS spine. 

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In the end, the challenging target of 200 proved a little beyond the reach of PBKS's lower order. Afghan veteran Naveen-ul-Haq bowled the final few overs and ensured that LSG walked away with a win.   

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LSG's aggressive batting 

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Batting first, LSG could have easily scored anything above 220, if it wasn't for the starts thrown away by the batters. Quinton de Kock led the pack from the start and batted sensibly, reaching his 21st half-century. KL Rahul, who was not in the playing XI and brought in as an impact substitute, owing to the management wanting him to ease slowly following an injury setback, could not get going. He was the first to depart by smashing one straight to Bairstow at backward point. 

Devdutt Padikkal's struggles in the middle continued and he fell prey to Sam Curran who was introduced in the final over of the powerplay for his second spell.

Despite the wickets, LSG never took the foot off the pedal. All-rounder Marcus Stoinis came in at No. 4 for a short intent-filled cameo and Pooran was always about keeping the run-rate turbo-charged. The West Indian took calculated risks to ensure the scoreboard was always moving.

Also read | IPL 2024: Why Nicholas Pooran is captaining LSG instead of KL Rahul against PBKS - Revealed

Badoni struggled and with Rabada getting Pooran with four odd overs to go, it looked like PBKS could close this out very well but Krunal put on a brilliant display of finishing to give his bowlers a great chance.

Curran used the cutters to great effect. Arshdeep got the key wickets of KL and QdK. Kagiso Rabada and Rahul Chahar also chipped in with a wicket each but they were on the higher end of the economy rate.