Mumbai : Brilliant half-centuries by K.L Rahul (77 off 51) and Deepak Hooda (52 off 34) powered Lucknow Super Giants to 195/3 against Delhi Capitals in the 45th match of the IPL 2022 at the Wankhede Stadium, here on Sunday.
Both Rahul and Hooda stitched a superb partnership of 95 runs for the second wicket in just 61 balls after winning the toss and opting to bat first. Apart from them, Quinton de Kock (23 off 13) also played an aggressive knock at the top for LSG.
After winning the toss and opting to bat first, opener Quinton de Kock gave Lucknow a flying start. Showing his aggressive intent, De Kock smashed both Delhi left-arm pacers — Mustafizur Rahman — for boundaries and sixes and took LSG to 41/0 at the end of 4 overs.
During the process, the South African batter was also dropped by Lalit Yadav. However, it didn’t prove too costly for Delhi as Shardul Thakur got rid of de Kock (23 off 13) in the 5th over of the innings with his off-cutter delivery. Deepak Hooda then joined skipper K.L Rahul, who was taking his time to settle down in the middle before taking his chances.
Both batters rotated strikes quite brilliantly and also hit timely boundaries to maintain the healthy run rate of Lucknow. Kuldeep Yadav has bowled beautifully and been Delhi’s biggest match-winner this season but both Hooda and Rahul played confidently against the left-arm spinner and took 26 off his first two overs.
Runs were flowing from both the ends as Hooda and Rahul continued to smash Delhi batters all around the park and reached to their respective fifties in the 13th and 14th over of the innings.
With Rahul and Hooda going great, LSG were cruising towards a big total but it was again Shardul who came to Delhi’s rescue. The right-hand pacer broke the threatening partnership for the second time in the day as LSG lost Hooda against the run of play. Marcus Stoinis, who came to bat next, got off the mark with a four off the very first ball that he faced but he failed to accelerate for the most part of the innings during his stay at the crease.
With Stoinis struggling to find boundaries, Rahul decided to shift gears and played a few adventurous shots to take LSG further. The Lucknow skipper was hitting the ball well and looked set for another century of the season but a brilliant catch by Lalit Yadav at the boundary line ended his fine knock.
The wicket proved decisive as Stoinis (17 not out off 16) and Krunal Pandya (9 not out off 6) failed to clear the ropes in the last two overs as Lucknow finished with 195/3 in 20 overs. Shardul Thakur (3/40) was the only wicket-taker for Delhi in this game.
Brief scores: Lucknow Super Giants 195/3 in 20 overs (K.L Rahul 77, Deepak Hooda 52; Shardul Thakur 3/40) vs Delhi Capitals
–IANS