Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) skipper Nicholas Pooran opened up about what his side faced in the game against Punjab Kings (PBKS). The 11th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 between the teams took place at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow.
Lucknow Super Giants emerged victorious by 21 runs as they snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. Stand-in skipper Nicholas Pooran made sure he made an immediate impact and helped his team win their first game of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024.
Lucknow Super Giants had a great outing with the bat as they posted 199 runs on the board. Quinton de Kock (54), Krunal Pandya (42*), and Nicholas Pooran (42) were stars with the bat as they batted well to take the team close to 200 at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow.
Punjab Kings had a blazing start to their innings as Shikhar Dhawan (70) and Jonny Bairstow (42) added 102 runs for the opening partnership. It seemed that they would pave their way to the easy win and even Lucknow Super Giants looked down too. However, debutant Mayank Yadav impressed one and all with his performance.
He was breathing fire with the ball and bowled an exceptional spell of fast bowling. He returned with the figures of 3/28. His spell completely changed the game and Mohsin Khan supported him well as Lucknow Super Giants restricted Punjab Kings to 178 runs to win the game by 21 runs.
Nicholas Pooran addressed the win and said that they were delighted to win in front of his home crowd. He admitted that Shikhar Dhawan and Jonny Bairstow batted well but credited his bowlers for pulling things back. Speaking during the post-match presentation, he explained:
“Wonderful start, nice to win in front of the home crowd. We had conversations, and spoke about getting good starts. Spoke about getting the right combinations. It was a good total. It’s a big venue, one side is big, one side short.
“It’s about getting wickets and getting boundaries. It’s only going to get challenging. Shikhar and Bairstow played well. They didn’t take the game away from us as we got wickets at the right time.”
Mayank Yadav was the story of the night – Nicholas Pooran in awe of young pacer
Nicholas Pooran was in awe of the young fast bowler and said that the pacer showed the world what he was capable of. The stand-in skipper also lauded Mayank Yadav for being accurate and credited IPL for giving a platform to such players. He added:
“Mayank’s was the story of the night. That was an inspiring performance, he (Mayank) is a young guy. He showed the entire world how good he is. He is not only fast, but also is accurate. It’s the beauty of the IPL, that gives the local players to perform.
“Wonderful platform. Every game is an opportunity, expect them to get better with every game. The groundsmen have contributed, as a batsman you can’t ask for anything.”
Lucknow Super Giants will be next seen in action when they will take on Royal Challengers Bengaluru on 2nd April.
