Lucknow Super Giants beat Punjab Kings by 20 runs in match 42 of IPL 2022. Although their batting was impressive, the bowlers put up a wonderful show to defend a small total of 153.
Opener Quinton de Kock scored 43 while Deepak Hooda was the second-best performer with a knock of 34. The likes of KL Rahul, Krunal Pandya, Marcus Stoinis and Ayush Badoni were dismissed on single digit scores as eventually LSG managed only 153. But four wickets by Kagiso Rabada helped them successfully defend the target. Mayank Agarwal and Jonny Bairstow got starts but were not able to convert them.
With this win, Lucknow have now moved up to the third spot in the points table. They have won six of their nine games and stand a good chance to make it to the playoffs in their very first season. Punjab Kings, on the other hand, have slumped to the seventh spot with five losses in nine games. They now to win all of their remaining games from here on to make it to the top four. Punjab’s next game is against Gujarat Titans on May 3.
"I think we just kept losing wickets. We had batsmen who were set and we kept getting out. So many soft dismissals for us. It is disappointing and we have to face the truth. We didn't bat well enough and we were below par with the bat. The new ball was doing a bit, seaming around and there was some bounce, it was a crucial period and after that it did get better to bat on," PBKS captain Mayank Agarwal at the post-match presentation.
Image credit: IPL
