With back-to-back match-winning performances, young tearaway Mayank Yadav has achieved hero status among Lucknow Supergiants fans. He got a loud cheer as he stepped on to the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Stadium on Sunday, fans roaring Mayank on as he warmed up by bowling before Gujarat Titans began their 164-run chase.
It was a perfect stage for the 21-year-old pacer to dazzle with 150-plus deliveries in LSG’s second home match. But it ended in disappointment for Mayank as bowled one over before walking off the field with physio in tow, after developing a side strain. He didn’t turn up again. The injury didn’t appear serious as Krunal Pandya in his post-match comments said he heard Mayank was ‘OK’.
LSG didn’t need Mayank in the end, as GT were dismissed for 130 in 18.5 overs in reply to the home team’s 163/5, set up by Marcus Stoinis’ 58 off 43 balls (4×4, 2×6).
Mayank was far from fiery in his only over. GT opener Sai Sudharsan struck a boundary off his first ball, bowled at 140.9 kph. His deliveries slipped to 140.6 kph and 139 kph before being hit for two more boundaries, one each by Sudarshan and Shubman Gill, conceding 13 runs in the over.
Pacer Yash Thakur stepped into the breach to capture his maiden five-wicket haul in IPL with the experienced left-arm spinner Krunal Pandya taking 3/11. It helped LSG seal a third win by 33 runs.
It started well for GT after Sudharshan and Gill added 54 runs in the powerplay, but Thakur’s yorker ended Gill’s fight (19, 21b, 2×4). Thereafter, wickets fell like nine pins as GT were reduced to 67/4 at the half-way mark. Sudharshan was the top-scorer with a 23-ball 31 (4×4). Rahul Tewatia (30, 25b, 2×4, 2×6) tried to infuse energy batting down the order, but it proved in vain.
Playing just his third match of IPL 2024, Thakur grabbed the opportunity, making GT batters struggle with his accuracy. His figures of 3.5-1-30-5 was excellent.
LSG skipper KL Rahul read the wicket well as he pushed promising spinner Manimaran Siddharth, who even after bowling three no balls in one over, rare in IPL, kept the GT batters under check, conceding just 29 at an economy of 7.25.
Stoinis scored his first half-century of the season after a bad patch in the first three matches. The innings mattered a lot to LSG, especially after Umesh Yadav struck two early blows to reduce LSG to 18/2 in the first three overs.
Even after being hit for a six on his second ball, Umesh bounced back to remove Quinton de Kock (6), who tried to repeat a similar shot but his leading edge found Noor Ahmed at third. Umesh followed it up with the wicket of Devdutt Padikkal (7), who edged to Vijay Shankar at wide slip
But Stonis and Rahul kept the scoreboard ticking. Whereas Rahul smashed back-to-back boundaries off Spencer Johnson, Stonis hit 12 runs in Umesh’s third over, which included an overthrow four.
Though the stickiness nature of the turf continued to keep Rahul and Stonis under check after LSG posted 47/2 in powerplay, both batters chose to play with soft hands, stitching together 73 for the third wicket. Rahul was the first to go as he tried to hit the ball out of the park and found Tewatia, stationed near the boundary, off Darshan Nalkande. His 31-ball 33 was studded with three fours. Nalkande also accounted for Stoinis (58, 43b, 4×4, 2×6) after being hit for back-to-back sixes. This time the bowler forced batter to lose shape and the edge off the toe end of the bat was caught brilliantly by a diving ‘keeper BR Sharath. Young Ayush Badoni (20, 11b, 3×4) made his presence felt, but it was Nicholas Pooran’s quickfire, unbeaten 22-ball 32, with three sixes, which helped the side post a challenging total.
