Bengaluru (IANS) | Nicholas Pooran hit 62 off just 19 balls to guide Lucknow Super Giants to a thrilling last-ball one-wicket win against Royal Challengers Bangalore while Marcus Stoinis scored 65 off 30 balls.
Puran of West Indies hit the fastest half-century of this season in just 15 balls. The match was decided off the last ball when Ravi Bishnoi and Avesh Khan took advantage of wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik’s faltering to steal the match-winning single.
Bengaluru scored 212 for two while Lucknow scored 213 for nine to pull off one of the most thrilling IPL wins.
Former England captain and GeoCinema’s IPL expert Eoin Morgan was impressed with Pooran’s performance.
Morgan said, “He’s got a lot of pace in his hands. It’s great to see him in full swing. He was fully rewarded for his tremendous performance tonight.”
Meanwhile, Suresh Raina, popularly known as Mr. IPL, took some time before speaking. Raina said, “I want to give some rest to my heart. Almost 450 runs were scored in 40 overs. We got to see all the fun of IPL.”
He said, “The match went till the last ball. The way Dinesh Karthik missed the wicket otherwise RCB would have won the match, he also tried the Mankad rule but did not succeed. Full credit to Pooran and Stoinis for the way they batted.”
Raina praised Puran fiercely and described him as a dangerous batsman. He said, “We have seen the finishing of MS Dhoni, Mitchell Marsh, Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya but Pooran’s story is different. To score the fastest fifty of the season in 15 balls, especially when he did it. To win matches from that position shows he can win matches from any position. The way he was striking the ball was amazing to watch.”
–IANS
