this was its second miraculous chase IPL After the heroics of Kolkata Knight Riders, Lucknow chased down a mammoth target of 213 runs on the last ball of the match on Sunday.
Swashbuckling Pooran was in beast mode at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium as he hit the fastest half-century of the season. Stoinis’ blistering 30-ball 65 was followed by his incredible 19-ball 62 that helped Lucknow inch closer to the big target.
Ayush Badoni also scored a useful 30(24) while tailenders Ravi Bishnoi and Avesh Khan maintained their composure in a tense situation to take their side across the finish line.
Chasing 213, LSG rode on the brilliance of Pooran and Stoinis to pull off a memorable win. Pooran registered the fastest fifty of the season, reaching the landmark in just 15 balls.
Earlier, Captain Faf Du Plessis, Virat Kohli And Glenn Maxwell hit a blistering half-century as RCB posted 212 for two after being sent in to bat.
While Du Plessis scored an unbeaten 79 off 46 balls, Kohli made an opening knock of 61 off 44 balls as the duo shared a 96-run stand for the first wicket.
LSG got off to a terrible start as they lost Kyle Mayers to Mohammad Siraj on the third ball of the opening over. RCB tasted their second success in the fourth over when Deepak Hooda gave a faint edge to Dinesh Karthik behind the stumps off Wayne Parnell.
To make matters worse for LSG, Parnell was again bowled a ball later when Krunal Pandya edged a single to Karthik, leaving the visitors 23 for three in four overs.
Thereafter, Stoinis showed his batting skills and took Harshal Patel and Karn Sharma to the cleaners to keep LSG in the hunt. Stoinis continued his onslaught and slammed Shahbaz Ahmed for two maximums and brought up his fifty in 26 balls to leave LSG reeling at 91 for three after the halfway stage.
Stoinis then lofted Karn Sharma over the extra cover boundary, but the bowler had the last laugh as the Australian was caught by Ahmed at deep point.
lsg captain KL RahulHe was struggling for 18 off 20 balls before he was caught by Kohli off Siraj in the 12th over.
Pooran used his long handle to great effect and hit seven sixes and four fours to keep LSG in the hunt. Playing a brilliant innings, Puran completed his half-century in just 15 balls.
Pooran single-handedly changed the complexion of the match with his big-hitting and took LSG close to a resounding victory.
Earlier, after a slow start, Kohli increased the momentum by hitting Avesh Khan for a six and a four off consecutive balls in the second over.
Avesh once again fell prey to Kohli’s wrath as the former India skipper hit the bowler for three fours in the fourth over.
A confident Kohli pulled Krunal Pandya in the next over.
Kohli was at his classy best as he smashed a boundary straight over Mark Wood’s head and then pulled the bowler over deep midwicket for a maximum.
Kohli completed his half-century in the ninth over with a single off Ravi Bishnoi.
RCB captain Faf du Plessis played a second fiddle and took his time. While Kohli went hammer and tongs, the South African played sensibly, hitting the bad balls over the fence.
Kohli was finally dismissed in the 12th over when he pulled a Marcus Stoinis delivery to Amit Mishra at square leg.
While du Plessis struggled to get going initially, Glenn Maxwell (59 off 29 balls) declared coming to the crease with a four and a six off Mishra.
Du Plessis opened the innings in the 15th over with three big hits off Bishnoi’s ball, which made RCB’s score 137 for one wicket.
Du Plessis, who was initially slow, brought up his half-century with a superbly lofted shot over Wood’s head.
Maxwell showed his ability by chasing the bowlers from the very beginning. But it was Du Plessis who went hammer and tongs towards the end, smashing every LSG bowler out of the park.
It was raining sixes and fours off du Plessis’s bat and Jaydev Unadkat’s 18th over fetched RCB 23 runs.
Maxwell matched stroke for stroke, punished Avesh for back-to-back maximums and brought up his half-century off just 24 balls. Such was the onslaught that the duo brought up their century partnership in just 44 balls.
Maxwell departed on the last ball of the innings, clean bowled by Wood as the batsman was shaken.
(With inputs from PTI)