Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Lucknow Super Giants via Super Over in one of the most thrilling matches of this Indian Premier League season. Bowling first in the Super Over, KKR’s Sunil Narine restricted LSG to just 1 run after he sent back both Nicholas Pooran and Aiden Markram. It just took 1 ball for Rinku Singh to chase down the target as he sliced Prince Yadav for a four to save KKR’s blushes.
Earlier, KKR and LSG match went to a Super Over after Kartik Tyagi failed to defend 17 runs off the last over. Tyagi bowled two beamers which brought LSG right back into the match before he gave KKR a glimpse of hope with Himmat Singh’s wicket.
With 7 runs off 1 ball and Mohammad Shami on strike, things looked rosy for KKR but the Bengal bowler slapped the last ball for a six to save LSG’s skins and drag the match to the Super Over.
Earlier, Lucknow Super Giants pacer Mohsin Khan added another sordid chapter to Kolkata Knight Riders’ batting woes, taking five wickets to restrict the three-time champions to a modest 155 for seven on Sunday.
Mohsin’s 5 for 23, a personal best for the left-arm pacer in this format, tore apart an already struggling KKR batting unit, as he snaffled the cream wickets of Ajinkya Rahane, Tim Seifert, Cameron Green, Rovman Powell and Anukul Roy.
Rinku Singh (83 not out, 51 balls) made a well-paced fifty and punished Mohammed Shami in the 19th over for 6, 4, 4 and the smoked four sixes in a row against spinner Digvesh Rathi as KKR made 43 runs in the last two overs to go past the 150-run mark.
But his fifty remained a lone act, as Mohsin firmly stood in the limelight.
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His bowling ethos were rooted in simple tactics – bang the ball into the black soil pitch to gain bounce or use cutters at various pace to keep the batters guessing.
Mohsin, who started the night with a wicket maiden, showed his variety across two dismissals.
He followed Rahane with a fuller ball as the batter tried to go over the covers, but the ball’s trajectory forced the KKR skipper to just slice the ball up for a simple catch for Aiden Markram.
The 27-year-old stayed calm when Green, who looked comfortable out there while smashing George Linde for two successive sixes, slammed him for a huge maximum.
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Two balls later, Mohsin dug one short, challenging Green (34) to go for the pull and the Australian all-rounder took the bait.
The into-the-body angle worked again as Green could only sky the ball to wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant.
Green’s ouster also ended a fifth wicket alliance worth 42 with Rinku Singh.
If the existing turmoil was not enough, KKR had to bear the dejection of seeing Angkrish Raghuvanshi getting dismissed obstructing the field.
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On the final ball of the fifth over from Prince Yadav, Raghuvanshi nudged one towards mid-on and set off for a single, only to be rejected by Green.
Raghuvanshi put in a dive to save himself but he came in the line of the throw from Shami.
Subsequently, third umpire Rohit Pandit accepted LSG’s appeal and decided that the batter’s turning radius was more than required, eventually resulting in the batter’s dismissal in a rare manner.
