Lucknow Giants whip MI
Few transitions carry as much weight as a new leader stepping into the colossal void left by an iconic predecessor. Ruturaj Gaikwad, the new skipper of Chennai Super Kings, found himself in precisely such a position at the beginning of this IPL season, succeeding M.S. Dhoni. It’s a role that comes with a lot of expectations, where every decision is scrutinised against the backdrop of Dhoni’s captaincy acumen. Yet, Ruturaj has managed to establish himself as a dynamic leader in a short time.
He quickly recovered from a disappointing start as a toporder batter before scoring three half-centuries and a ton in the last five innings. In a team grappling with an inconsistent batting lineup, Ruturaj has been the pillar of stability, anchoring innings with class and authority. His adept handling of the bowlers has also earned him accolades.
Ruturaj will once again be in the hot seat at the M. A. Chidambaram stadium when CSK take on Punjab Kings on Wednesday. With 10 points in nine games, Chennai are locked in a chaotic mid-table battle, while Punjab (six points in nine games) are desperate to climb from the bottom half.
Punjab’s unpredictability is glaringly evident from the fact that they suffered four consecutive defeats at their new home in Mullanpur before pulling off a record-breaking chase against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens.
Jonny Bairstow, who was dropped for a couple of games, has made a roaring comeback with a match-winning hundred against KKR. Middle-order bats Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma have been the finds of the season. Shashank averages 65.75 and strikes at 182.63, while Ashutosh boasts an impressive strike-rate of 189.28. Pacers Harshal Patel and Arshdeep Singh are leading the attack with 14 and 12 wickets, respectively.
Lucknow, April 30: Marcus Stoinis made a composed fifty to complement the splendid effort of the bowlers as Lucknow Super Giants strengthened their chances of a play-off berth with a nervy four-wicket win over Mumbai Indians in the IPL here on Tuesday.
Mumbai Indians’ toporder came a cropper as they stuttered to a belowpar 144 for 7, riding on contributions from Nehal Wadhera (46), Ishan Kishan (32) and Tim David (35 not out).
In reply, Stoinis scored a 45-ball 62, studded with seven hits to the fence and two maximums but once he was gone LSG survived some anxious moments before getting home with four balls to spare.
With their sixth win in 10 games, LSG climbed to the third spot in the IPL standings. MI, on the other hand, slumped to their seventh loss in 10 games.
LSG made a watchful start to their chase after Nuwan Thushara struck with his fourth ball to remove impact sub Arshin Kulkarni for a duck on his
IPL debut. Stoinis cracked two back-to-back boundaries off Gerald Coetzee, who ended up conceding 15 in his first over. K. L. Rahul (28 off 22) too joined the party, slamming three fours and a six to take 20 runs off Thushara.
Stoinis then whacked Bumrah over long-off as LSG reached 52 in the powerplay.
Mohammed Nabi held on to a skier at the boundary line as Hardik Pandya produced a breakthrough, removing Rahul.
Stoinis, however, kept going strong as he and Deepak Hooda (18) added another 40 runs off 35 balls to take LSG close to 100. Hooda was then removed by Hardik but Stoinis reached his fifty off 39 balls in the 14th over and then dispatched Mohammed Nabi for a four and a six. Coetzee bowled Ashton Turner, while Ayush Badoni was run out to give hopes to MI before Nicholas Pooran (14 not out) knocked off the remaining runs.
Earlier, MI dug in a big hole for themselves by losing four wickets in the powerplay. The visitors just couldn’t recover from the hiccup. — PTI
You had success in Test cricket, ODIS. How do you actually work out your bowling strategy for T20s?
It’s a funny format. Some things work one day that won’t work the next game. It’s tough, but it involves a lot of problem solving, which I love. You got to think on your feet. So it feels like with each game, it’s getting slightly better.
How do you assess the SRH batting lineup? And what do you think is the biggest advantage for you this season?
Batting line-up has been awesome so far. I think they are playing with real freedom, which is hard to come up against. So I think that’s been a point of difference. The guys are just going out there, they want to go and show off how good they are. And you have seen that in three matches, totals that have been above 260, which is just insane.
How do you manage your workload and prevent injuries, especially during a gruelling tournament like IPL?
It’s a long tournament. In some ways, as a fast bowler, it’s a little bit easier than, say, Tests or Onedayers, because you are