Prabhsimran fires Punjab to easy win over LSG, Pant's poor run continues
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Prabhsimran Singh led the charge with a brilliant fifty as Punjab Kings made short work of Lucknow Super Giants' fighting total of 171/7 in the IPL in Lucknow on April 1.
The opener smashed a 34-ball 69 before skipper Shreyas Iyer (52 off 30) and impact sub Nehal Wadhera (43 off 25) finished the proceedings to give Punjab a solid 8-wicket win.
Iyer launched a six to bring up his fifty and achieve the target with 22 balls to spare. Ricky Ponting's boys hit 11 sixes and 16 boundaries to join Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Delhi Capitals at the summit of the points table with a perfect record after their opening two rounds.
Earlier, Nicholas Pooran continued his brilliant start to the season with a 44 to help Lucknow steady a total that seemed like a defendable one. But Rishabh Pant’s bowlers couldn’t match the aggression displayed by their West Indies hitter.
Leg spinner Digvesh Rathi did justice to himself with 2/30, extending his tally to five wickets from three matches, but every other Lucknow bowler was a disappointment. Shardul Thakur went wicket-less and has slipped further in the purple cap race after starting the first two matches with six wickets.
The biggest disappointment in the Lucknow dugout should be felt by their skipper, who hasn’t yet delivered on the hefty price tag put on him in the auction. Pant was dismissed for 2, taking his tally to 17 from three matches.
Pooran was the saving grace, and though he couldn't add to the two fifties he scored in LSG's first two matches, he was exciting as long as he stood in the middle. Ayush Badoni's 41 was equally impressive.
But credit to Shreyas Iyer's bowlers, who delivered after he won the toss. India pacer Arshdeep Singh was the pick of their bowlers with 3/43, while Lockie Ferguson on his Punjab debut picked up a wicket.
Brief scores: LSG 171/7 in 20 overs (Pooran 44, Badoni 41, Aiden Markram 28, Abdul Samad 27, Arshdeep 3/43) lost to Punjab Kings 177/2 in 16.2 overs (Prabhsimran 69, Shreyas 52 not out, Wadhera 43 not out, Digvesh 2/30)