Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) produced a remarkable performance to secure a 5-run win over Mumbai Indians (MI) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 match at the Ekana Stadium on Tuesday. Marcus Stoinis' unbeaten 89 off 47 balls played a crucial role in LSG's victory, as they posted a formidable total of 177 runs after being put into bat first.
In response, MI started off brilliantly with skipper Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan scoring runs at a brisk pace. They put on an impressive 92-run opening partnership before LSG made a comeback in the middle overs. Ravi Bishnoi and Krunal Pandya bowled exceptionally well to restrict MI's run rate.
Bishnoi was the pick of the bowlers, removing Rohit Sharma to break the opening stand and claim his 50th IPL wicket. Ishan Kishan fought hard, scoring a well-made fifty, but Bishnoi dismissed him with a googly.
Yash Thakur then dismissed Suryakumar Yadav cheaply to leave MI struggling at 125/3 in 15 overs. Tim David tried his best to get his team over the line with some spectacular hitting in the penultimate over, but it wasn't enough as Mohsin Khan held his nerve to defend 11 runs in the final over.
Earlier, LSG got off to a torrid start, losing their openers in the second over itself. However, Stoinis and skipper Krunal Pandya steadied the innings with their 82-run partnership. Krunal retired himself in the 16th over, after experiencing cramps, falling one short of his half-century. Stoinis then took charge, smashing the MI bowlers for 54 runs off the last three overs to take LSG to a competitive total of 177/3 in 20 overs.
With this win, Lucknow jumped to the third spot in the points table, with 15 points, and edged closer to securing a place in the playoffs with one league match to go. Marcus Stoinis was named the Player of the Match for his brilliant unbeaten knock of 89 runs.
Brief scores: Lucknow Super Giants 177/3 in 20 overs (Marcus Stoinis 89, Krunal Pandya 49; Jason Behrendorff 2-30) beat Mumbai Indians 156/5 in 20 overs(Ishan Kishan 59, Rohit Sharma 37, Tim David 32 not out; Ravi Bishnoi 2-26, Yash Thakur 2-40) by 5 runs