Lucknow Super Giants skipper KL Rahul’s dogged chase fell just short in a nailbiting seven-run Indian Premier League defeat to defending champions Gujarat Titans on Saturday.
Rahul (68 from 61 balls) and rival skipper Hardik Pandya (66 from 50 balls) both made half-centuries to prop up their respective innings in the low-scoring duel.
Gujarat’s Mohit Sharma took two wickets and facilitated two run-outs as the home side dramatically crashed in the final over on 7-128 in pursuit of the 136-run target.
Earlier, the visitors had opted to bat on a slow and low wicket and their 135-6 was testament to Pandya’s sharp execution.
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Gujarat opener Shubman Gill was out for a duck off his second ball, but Pandya propelled his side forward with four sixes before Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis sent him back in the final over.
Rahul started the chase slowly after earning the dubious distinction of becoming the first opener in IPL history to play out two first-over maidens in consecutive innings, but he soon put paid to recent chatter on his lagging strike rate, reaching his half-century off 38 balls.
The dismissal of fellow opener Kyle Mayers hit the brakes and Rahul failed to add to the eight boundaries he had already struck.
Only 18 runs followed off his next 23 balls, sucking the momentum out of Lucknow’s innings despite a formidable 23 (23) from Hardik’s brother Krunal.
Rahul was still at the crease with 12 needed as the final over began, but he was dramatically caught out at square leg off the second ball.
Stoinis was out for a duck the next ball and Lucknow then suffered back-to-back run-outs as they snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.
Lucknow, who at one stage in the run chase needed 32 runs from 38 balls with nine wickets in hand, failed to register a boundary in the last seven overs.
“I don’t know how this has happened,” Rahul confessed in the post-match presentation.
“I still can’t put a finger on it and say where we went wrong, but it is what it is.
“We’ve lost two points. We had the game in our pockets, and we let it slip.”
GREEN’S EXPLOSIVE FIFTY IN VAIN
Elsewhere, the Punjab Kings triumphed in Mumbai with a hitting bout between the tournament’s two most expensive players in near-perfect batting conditions.
Punjab’s Sam Curran steered the Kings to 8-214, with the Mumbai Indians falling 13 short in reply.
Curran, who returned to Punjab for an eye-watering AU$3.33 million after December’s auction, hit a quick-fire 55 off 29 balls, including five fours and four sixes.
The English all-rounder had help from Harpreet Singh (41 from 28 balls) and Jitesh Sharma (25 from seven balls) to give Punjab their highest score of the season, being dismissed when Jofra Archer took a return catch on the second-last over.
Australian all-rounder Cameron Green, Mumbai’s $3.15 million man, made 67 off 43 balls in reply to keep the home side in the fight with help from Suryakumar Yadav’s 57 (26).
But Mumbai’s brief window to come out on top was closed by left-armer Arshdeep Singh, who took Yadav and two other wickets in the final overs for match figures of 4-29.
Tasmanian seamer Nathan Ellis dismissed Green in the 16th over, finishing with 1-33 from his four overs, while Hobart Hurricanes teammate Tim David slapped an unbeaten 25 (13) for Mumbai.
Punjab’s Matthew Short scored 11 (10) and bowled one wicketless over in the victory.
