IPL: Lower order & bowlers help Lucknow Super Giants prevail over Punjab Kings

The Punjab Kings paid a heavy price for not taking the patient approach while chasing an easy target.

Lucknow Super Giants defeated Punjab Kings by 20 runs as the lower order proved their worth and added 40+ in the death overs to take Lucknow Super Giants' total north of the 150-run mark to 153/8. At the same time, the bowlers worked their magic in the second innings and restricted Punjab Kings to 133/8 in 20 overs.

Quinton de Kock and Deepak Hooda were the only hope for Lucknow Super Giants. 

Restricting Lucknow Super Giants to 153 runs was a commendable task by the Punjab Kings bowlers. The staple pace trio of Arshdeep Singh, Sandeep Sharma, and Kagiso Rabada were majorly responsible for the achievement, while spinner Rahul Chahar also chipped in with a couple of wickets.

Kagiso Rabada drew first blood for the Punjab Kings in the form of the opposition skipper K.L. Rahul in the 3rd over for only six runs off of 11 balls. After Rahul's dismissal, de Kock and Hooda could only take Lucknow's score to 39 runs after they could only score 16 runs in the first four overs until de Kock stepped up and hit Rabada over the ropes twice. 

With Lucknow at 67/1 in the first ten overs, Punjab Kings had nothing to worry about. Whereas problems would soon mount for Lucknow as de Kock would depart to the pavilion after knicking the ball. Bringing an end to his and Hooda's 85 runs stand while remaining shy of just four runs to score his half-century.

Deepak Hooda showed himself the way back soon after being run out by Jonny Bairstow 34 off 28 balls.

The Lucknow Super Giants were 109/5 in 15 overs when Krunal Pandya and Ayush Badoni departed. However, a few good cameos by Jason Holder(11 off 8), Dushmantha Chameera(17 off 10), and Mohsin Khan(13 off 6) showed Lucknow the way and helped Lucknow to set a target of 154 runs for Punjab Kings. 

It was a collective performance by Punjab's bowling unit, where Kagiso Rabada scalped four wickets. At the same time, others also chipped in and helped maintain a low run rate throughout the first innings. 

Punjab Kings' batting unit disappoints after a brilliant bowling showcase.

The Punjab Kings had one of the worst turnarounds of this season when their batting line-up choked in front of an easy target.

Captain Mayank Agarwal took it upon himself in the power play to score runs as veteran Shikhar Dhawan, who was coming back off a brilliant knock, could not clear the fielders with his bat. 

However, Agarwal soon departed after his quick 25 off of 17 balls, which saw him hit two sixes and two fours. He was then followed by Dhawan in the 7th over, who struggled to add five runs to the scoreboard in 15 balls.

Jonny Bairstow was also able to make a start. He seemed to be the only reliable batsman in the Punjab camp as Rajapaksa, Livingstone, and Jitesh Sharma departed in front of him. At the same time, only the fellow Englishman could score in double digits.

But even Bairstow couldn't anchor Punjab's innings and left it onto the bowlers to score 50 runs as he departed with 32 off 28 balls in the 16th over.

Even though Rishi Dhawan tried his best and added 21 runs off of 22 balls, it wasn't good enough as Punjab Kings fell short of 20 runs and were restricted to 133/8 after the competition of 20 overs.

Lucknow Super Giants' sixth victory in nine games moves them one step closer to a playoff spot, while Punjab Kings face a higher hurdle with only four victories in nine games.

Now, Lucknow Super Giants will meet their Delhi Capitals on May 1, whereas Punjab Kings will face top-of-the-table Gujarat Titans on May 3.