Opener Mitchell’s 64-ball 117 helps already-eliminated LSG beat table-toppers GT by 33 runs and end their three-match winning streak
LSG’s Mitchell Marsh during his 117 against GT yesterday. Pic/PTI
Riding on opener Mitchell Marsh’s 117 off 64 balls, the already-eliminated Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) beat current table-toppers Gujarat Titans (GT) by 33 runs in their penultimate IPL-18 league match here on Thursday.
Marsh’s knock was laced with 10 fours and eight sixes as the visitors posted a mammoth 235-2 in the allotted 20 overs. In reply, GT could manage 202-9 in 20 overs. Pacer Will O’Rourke was the pick of the bowlers for LSG with 3-27, while M Shahrukh Khan (57 off 29 balls) top-scored for GT.
Despite the defeat, GT stay on top with 18 points, while LSG are placed sixth (12 points) after six wins.
Crucial 91-run opening stand
Earlier, openers Aiden Markram (36 off 24 balls) and Marsh gave Lucknow a solid start with a 91-run stand off 59 balls before the hosts struck the much-needed blow, giving the 54,722 spectators in attendance much to cheer about when Shahrukh Khan snapped up Markram as the South African was attempting to hit him over the ropes on the off-side.
Marsh was in a murderous mood right from the start of the innings as he used his long reach to hammer seamer Arshad Khan over covers — the shortest boundary at the Narendra Modi Stadium — in the second over for the first of his eight sixes. His straight shot over the sight screen off left-arm spinner Sai Kishore went high as everyone in the packed house craned their necks upwards to optimistically see the progress of the sky-bound ball that went the distance and more.
LSG broke the record of 16 sixes in an IPL innings at the Ahmedabad venue by plundering 17 hits over the ropes with an equal number of fours in their innings.
Explosive batting
Nicholas Pooran (56 not out off 27 balls) took to the fast lane from the word go as he and Marsh added 121 for the second wicket off just 52 balls, putting LSG in a strong position early.
The match did not begin well for GT when Arshad twice slipped while landing on his delivery stride as his back leg landed awkwardly in the second over. The left-arm seamer, however, sent back the rampaging Marsh in the 19th over. In the subsequent overs, both Mohammed Siraj and Kagiso Rabada hurt their respective bowling arms while trying to stop the ball in their followthrough. However, their injuries did not seem serious, though Siraj did receive treatment near the boundary rope.
Brief scores
LSG 235-2 in 20 overs (M Marsh 117, N Pooran 56*, A Markram 36) beat GT 202-9 in 20 overs (S Khan 57, S Rutherford 38, S Gill 35, J Buttler 33; W O’Rourke 3-27, A Badoni 2-4, A Khan 2-51) by 33 runs
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