Raza, Shahrukh lift Punjab to 2-wicket win over Lucknow

PBKS bowled first after winning the toss and held LSG to 159/8. Lucknow skipper KL Rahul top-scored for the team with 74 off 56 balls, hitting eight fours and a six. However, there no other major contributions from the bat as a result of which Lucknow lost momentum.

Rahul and Kyle Mayers (29 off 23) added 53 for the opening wicket. However, Deepak Hooda (2), Krunal Pandya (18), Nicholas Pooran (0) and Marcus Stoinis (15) all fell cheaply to hurt LSG’s progress. For Punjab, stand-in skipper Sam Curran claimed 3/31, while Kagiso Rabada picked up 2/34.

Punjab got off to a disappointing start in the chase as Yudhvir Singh Charak sent back Atharva Taide (0) and Prabhsimran Singh (4) in his first two overs. Matthew Short scored 34 off 22, but fell to Krishnappa Gowtham to mid-off, while Harpreet Singh was dismissed for 22.

Sikandar Raza, however, struck 57 off 41 balls, hitting four fours and three sixes. His knock put Punjab back in contention. Shahrukh Khan then played the finisher’s role to perfection, hammering 23 not out off 10 balls with the aid of two sixes and a four. He top-edged a six off Mark Wood in the penultimate over and slammed Ravi Bishnoi for the winning boundary in the last over.

Speaking after being named Player of the Match, Raza said, “Feels great to be honest. When I got out, there were a few demons in my head. Credit to Shahrukh. Nice to get a fifty but if we had lost, I wouldn't have felt so good. It's one of the biggest stage. You're here and you want to do well. I've had two average games which was there in my head.

“Jitesh's wicket was very crucial. Had he stayed on for 6-8 balls, he would've finished the game himself. But the way Shahrukh came out hitting his first ball for six, I was confident in him,” he added.

--By A Cricket Correspondent