Cricket Highlights, 23 April: IPL 2023 (Match 30) – Lucknow Super Giants vs Gujarat Titans

Lucknow Super Giants vs Gujarat Titans (Match 30) – Highlights

In the last over, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) needed 12 runs to win with seven wickets in hand. Two batsmen, KL Rahul, and Ayush Badoni were at the crease and Mohit Sharma was given the responsibility to defend the target. Rahul scored two runs from the first ball. He was caught by Jayant Yadav while playing a short ball in the next ball. The LSG captain got out scoring 68 runs off 61 balls with the help of 8 boundaries.

Marcus Stoinis was out on the next ball. He could not score any runs. Ayush (8) and Deepak Hooda (2) walked back to the pavilion as a result of two consecutive runouts off the next two balls. The Super Giant could not get a run from the last ball. As a result, Gujarat Titans (GT) clinched an incredible seven-run victory in the last-minute drama.

But this match was low scoring. Batting first, the Titans collected only 135 runs after losing 6 wickets in the allotted 20 overs.

Despite Hardik Pandya’s storm, GT was stuck with very few runs. Hardik scored 66 runs. LSG’s innings stopped at 128 runs in reply. However, they had a golden opportunity to win the game.

The Super Giants had a golden opportunity to crush the defending champions Titans at home. But in the end, the Super Giants batters could not do it. Skipper Rahul completed a personal half-century but could not accelerate the run rate later. The Indian batsman also broke a record of Virat Kohli on his way to an innings of 68 off 61 balls against the Titans.

Rahul has reached the milestone of 7000 runs in recognized T20 games. It took Rahul 197 innings to reach this milestone. Fastest among Indian batsmen in terms of innings. Earlier the record was held by Virat Kohli. He played 212 innings to reach the milestone of 7000 runs.

Earlier, the Titans won the toss and decided to bat first. In the current IPL, all teams are seen winning the toss and opting to chase. GT captain Hardik Pandya tried to be exceptional in this regard. His decision initially seemed wrong but eventually brought success to the Titan’s camp.

Batting first, GT lost the wicket of Shubman Gill at the very beginning. Shubman was caught by Ravi Bishnoi off Krunal Pandya before opening the account of runs after playing 2 balls. Wriddhiman Saha paired with Hardik to give the team a strong foundation. However, the Titans could not play a big innings because they could not increase the speed of scoring.

Wriddhiman missed out on a sure half-century. He scored 47 runs off 37 balls with the help of 6 boundaries and was caught by Deepak Hooda on the delivery of Krunal. Hardik completed his half-century. He scored 66 off 50 balls with 2 fours and 6 sixes and was caught by KL Rahul off Stoinis.

None of the others could score as much. Abhinav Manohar 3, Vijay Shankar 10, David Miller 6, and Rahul Tewatia scored unbeaten 2 runs. For GT, Krunal Pandya took 2 wickets for just 16 runs in 4 overs. Marcus Stoinis picked up 2 wickets giving 20 runs in 3 overs. Apart from this, Naveen-ul-Haq and Amit Mishra got 1 wicket each.

In response, the Super Giants got stopped at 127 runs for 7 wickets in 20 overs. They needed 12 runs to win in the last over. Mohit Sharma gave 4 runs in the last over and LSG lost 4 wickets, including two run outs. The Titans eventually left the field, winning the match by 7 runs.

Kyle Mayers scored 24 runs off 19 balls for LSG. He hit 2 fours and 1 six. Krunal played an innings of 23 runs off 23 balls with the help of 2 fours and 1 six. Mohit Sharma picked up 2 wickets conceding 17 runs in 3 overs and was adjudged the player of the match for LSG. Noor Ahmad grabbed 2 wickets by taking 18 runs in 4 overs. Rashid Khan took 1 wicket for 33 runs.

Lucknow Super Giants have climbed to the 2nd position in the points table with four wins and three losses in seven matches. On the other hand, Gujarat Titans are in the 4th position in the standings with four wins and two losses playing six matches.

Lucknow Super Giants vs Gujarat Titans Scoreboard

Gujarat Titans – 135/6 (20.0)

Lucknow Super Giants – 128/7 (20.0)

Result – Gujarat Titans won by 7 runs

Player of the match – Mohit Sharma

Gujarat Titans

Lucknow Super Giants vs Gujarat Titans Playing XIs