Bowlers Hold Nerve To Guide LSG To First Home Win Edging MI By 12 Runs

Lucknow: Led by Digvesh Rathi, Shardul Thakur and Avesh Khan taking a wicket each, the Lucknow Super Giants bowlers’ held their nerve to register their first home win of IPL 2025 after edging Mumbai Indians by 12 runs at the BRSABV Ekana Cricket Stadium on Friday.

When openers Mitchell Marsh and Aiden Markram smashed fifties while David Miller applied finishing touches with a late cameo as the trio carried LSG to 203/8, it always gave the look of an uphill chase for MI. Suryakumar Yadav and Naman Dhir hit 67 and 46 respectively to keep MI in the hunt.

But with Suryakumar falling in the 17th over and Tilak Varma enduring a horror time with the bat, it meant that LSG’s bowlers were able to keep things under control, especially sticking to the wide-ball plan in the death overs, to help the side get their sixth win over a formidable MI outfit in the IPL.

LSG’s defence began on a bright note as Akash Deep struck on his fourth ball by having Will Jacks pulling straight to deep backward square leg for five. Thakur was next to strike by dismissing Ryan Rickleton in the same fashion for 10.

Dhir injected some momentum through ruthless counter-attack against Akash – pulling for his four and two sixes, before glancing to get another boundary in a 21-run fourth over, as MI eventually ended power-play at 64/2. The duo took a boundary each off both Akash and Ravi Bishnoi, before Rathi castled Dhir for 46 right after the first time out ended.

Earlier, openers Mitchell Marsh and Aiden Markram smashed fifties while David Miller applied finishing touches with a late cameo as the trio carried Lucknow Super Giants to 203/8.

Marsh capitalised on pace-on deliveries to hit 60 off 31 balls, his third fifty of the competition. After his fall, Markram stepped up to smash 53 off 38 balls, while Miller brought out the big hits in a 14-ball 27 and ensure LSG posted a 200-plus total for the second time.

For MI, who conceded 69 runs in power-play, Hardik Pandya led the way with the ball by picking up 5-36, his first five-for in T20 cricket. The MI skipper used the conditions very well by relying more on his slower balls to get his scalps and become the first-ever IPL captain to take a fifer.

Inserted into batting first, Marsh was quick off the blocks by punching Trent Boult for four and got a lucky reprieve when his edge was found by the pacer, but MI never appealed. He then hammered Deepak Chahar for three boundaries, before lofting Boult over mid-off for six and inner-edging off him for four more.

Marsh’s superb march continued as he hammered and cut off Mitchell Santner for two boundaries, before lofting and pulling Ashwani Kumar for six and four before a brace got him his fifty in 27 balls. Marsh’s onslaught continued as he clubbed and punched Ashwani for two more fours as LSG ended power-play at 69/0.

Brief Scores: Lucknow Super Giants 203/8 in 20 overs (Mitchell Marsh 60, Aiden Markram 53; Hardik Pandya 5-36) beat Mumbai Indians 191/5 in 20 overs (Suryakumar Yadav 67, Naman Dhir 46; Digvesh Rathi 1-21, Shardul Thakur 1-40) by 12 runs. IANS

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