Twitter Reactions: Sikandar Raza, Shahrukh Khan help Punjab Kings trump LSG in hard-fought contest

The theme of last-over finishes in IPL 2023 continued after Punjab Kings (PBKS) edged past Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in a thrilling contest at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow. It was the Punjab Kings’ all-rounder duo of Sikandar Raza and Shahrukh Khan who starred in their side’s brilliant victory after the bowlers did their job in the first innings. 

Chasing a par total on a tricky surface, Punjab got off to a worrisome start after Atharva Taide was dismissed for a duck on his debut for the side. Prabhsimran Singh’s horrible run with the bat continued as he was dismissed cheaply for a third game in a row.

The chase was going nowhere before Matthew Short took it upon himself to resurrect the innings. The Aussie dasher smashed 34 off 22 deliveries to put the pressure on the home side. But his dismissal on the final delivery of the powerplay got the home side back into the contest. 

The tourists were feeling the heat in the middle overs, but they found a hero in the form of star all-rounder Sikandar Raza, who registered his maiden IPL half-century to shift the momentum of the game once again. It looked like the Punjab Kings were in cruise control with Raza and Curran at the crease but Rahul’s decision to hold back Ravi Bishnoi proved to be a masterstroke.

The young leggie, who dismissed the Punjab skipper in his first over of the match, scalped the prized wicket of Raza in his second over to land a severe blow to Punjab’s hopes. However, the game was far from done at that point as Shahrukh Khan came out all guns blazing to propel his side over the line in another thrilling final over.

LSG stutter after KL Rahul’s well-compiled half-century

It was Punjab Kings’ stand-in skipper Sam Curran who won the toss and decided to bowl first on a seemingly green surface in Lucknow. The home side, batting first in front of a vociferous crowd, made a brisk start to the game on the back of a solid opening stand between Kyle Mayers and skipper KL Rahul.

However, Curran’s decision to introduce spin into the attack paid dividends for his side as LSG lost Mayers in the eighth over of the match. Deepak Hooda, who was making his 100th appearance in the competition, could not make it count on his landmark occasion after being dismissed for just two runs to his name.

Rahul, who was looking in decent touch for the first time in the tournament, stitched a decent partnership with Krunal Pandya. But the visitors clawed their way back into the game after dismissing Pandya and Nicholas Pooran, for a golden duck, on successive deliveries. There were no heroics from Marcus Stoinis either as the home side finished with a par total of 159 runs in their 20 overs.