Chameera, Pandya, Khan miserly in LSG win

The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) defeated the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the forty-second game of the 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL). The match was played in the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune. Krunal Pandya was adjudged to be the Man of the Match.

Krunal's starring role

During Andy Flower's two-and-a-half years on the franchise circuit, he has often stacked his teams with allrounders, and his Lucknow side has taken his Twenty20 philosophy to its logical conclusion: they had nine bowling options in their side for this game, with Avesh Khan returning from injury to replace Manish Pandey in the playing XI.

Krunal Pandya has benefited from this approach, being called upon as a bowler only when the conditions or match-ups have been favorable. When his arm ball found a leading edge and looped up into the covers in the penultimate delivery of his first over, he removed Punjab's sole surviving left-handed batter in their top seven, Bhanuka Rajapaksa.

That allowed him to cruise past their right-handed batters, allowing only four runs off the bat in his final three overs and trapping Jitesh Sharma leg before wicket. With five wickets remaining and the out-of-form Jonny Bairstow as their sole frontline hitter, Punjab needed 62 off 36 balls when his session ended. Pandya was the man diving forward to take the catch and finish the game when his thick edge off Dushmantha Chameera soared to deep third base.

Pandya has nine wickets in IPL 2022, with an economy rate of 6.18 and an average of three overs per game. He has an even better record against right-handers, with eight wickets at 5.51 an over; Rajapaksa is the first left-hander he has dismissed this season.

Left-arm spin has been a problem for the Kings all season, and it will be used against them in their next five group games. Pandya finished with 2 for 11 and Axar Patel's 2 for 10 at Brabourne was the only cheaper four-over session this season by a left-arm spinner against Punjab.

Hooda and de Kock get off to strong start

Kagiso Rabada inflicted an outside edge on Kananur Lokesh Rahul, who fell for 6 in his first appearance against the Punjab club since he left them at the end of last season, as Lucknow's top order battled to cope to the characteristics of the surface. Quinton de Kock slammed him with back-to-back sixes, but they only mustered 39 runs in the powerplay.

Deepak Hooda got off to a shaky start, scoring 3 off 12 balls and struggled to maintain control, but sixes off Rishi Dhawan and Liam Livingstone got the innings moving in the middle. Sandeep Sharma, who bowled out early and finished with 1 for 18 from his four overs, got de Kock's outside edge to break the stand, and Lucknow were loading up for the back end with de Kock fire as well.

Super Giants on decline

Lucknow went from 98 for 1 to 111 for 6 and then 126 for 7. Bairstow, who has generally been deployed as a specialist batter rather than a keeper, dismissed Hooda with a magnificent direct shot from deep backward square leg, before Rabada struck again in his third over, getting Pandya and Ayush Badoni caught attempting boundaries off hard length balls.

Rahul Chahar got Marcus Stoinis off his own bowling and had Jason Holder caught at deep extra cover, but important sixes from Mohsin Khan (once off Chahar) and Chameera (twice off Rabada) dragged Lucknow to 153.

Khan draws attention of audience

Mohsin Khan's signing for Indian Rupees 20 lakh went unnoticed at the mega-auction, but his left-arm angle has provided a critical point of difference for Lucknow's attack. He is a tall 23-year-old seamer from Uttar Pradesh who has only played one first-class game, but his pace in the powerplay and slower balls through the middle and at the death have distinguished him as another promising local talent.

With the first delivery of his third over, he took the crucial wicket of Livingstone, leaving him no pace to work with as he shuffled over to play a deliberate scoop, and then sealed the victory with two tail-end wickets in his fourth over to finish with 3 for 24 and seal Lucknow's victory.