Match No. 54 saw a dominating performance from the two-time champion Kolkata Knight Riders. They locked horns with Lucknow Super Giants at Ekana Stadium in Lucknow on Saturday and thrashed them completely. KKR registered a massive win by 98 runs to get two important points on the board. With this, they have now replaced Rajasthan Royals in the top position.
KKR now has 16 points and an excellent NRR of +1.453. They are almost through the next round. This match started with KL Rahul winning the toss and putting KKR to bat first. But once again, both openers gave the team a flying start and added 61 runs in just 4.1 overs.
Sunil Narine carried on and registered his third half-century of this season. He kept on scoring boundaries and sixes. But in the end, he got out for 81 off just 39 balls. KKR finished with a big total of 235/6 in 20 overs, with some cameos in the middle.
It was a big score to chase, and LSG needed a good start. But their batters couldn’t get going. Skipper KL Rahul got out after a rusty 21-ball 25, while Marcus Stoinis was the top scorer with 36 off 21 balls. The whole team got dismissed for just 137 runs and suffered a massive defeat. Harshit Rana (3/24) and Varun Chakravarty (3/30) picked up three wickets each.
Let’s take a look at the award winners of this nail-biting match.
Lucknow Super Giants vs Kolkata Knight Riders Award Winners, Man of the Match IPL 2024
Lucknow Super Giants vs Kolkata Knight Riders EV Electric Striker of the Match
Sunil Narine scored runs at a brilliant strike rate of 207.69 but Phil Salt had even better strike rate in the game. Salt smashed 32 runs off just 15 balls, with five fours and one six at a strike rate of 228.57 and won the EV Electric Striker of the Match.
The Punch.ev Electric Striker of the Match between Lucknow Super Giants & Kolkata Knight Riders goes to Phil Salt#TATAIPL | @Tataev | #PunchevElectricStriker | #BeyondEveryday | #LSGvKKR pic.twitter.com/VGWCVnLIfG
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 5, 2024
Lucknow Super Giants vs Kolkata Knight Riders Fantasy Player of the Match
There were a few notable performances in the LSG vs KKR clash but not many could match the contribution of Sunil Narine. He scored 81 runs off 39 balls at a strike rate of 207.69. Narine also took a wicket as well. He collected a total of 148 points at fantasy platforms and won the Fantasy Player of the Match.
Lucknow Super Giants vs Kolkata Knight Riders Angel One Super 6s of the Match
Lucknow Super Giants hit 7 sixes in their batting innings. On the other hand, Narine alone hit 7 sixes in his innings of 81 runs. As a result, he won the Angel One Super 6s of the Match as well.
Lucknow Super Giants vs Kolkata Knight Riders On-the-Go 4s of the Match award
Sunil Narine gives very few boundary balls when he is bowling. But when he is batting, he likes to deal in boundaries. Narine hit six boundaries in the games, which were the most by any player, and he won the On-the-Go 4s of the Match award.
The RuPay on the go four of the Match between Lucknow Super Giants & Kolkata Knight Riders goes to Sunil Narine#TATAIPL | @RuPay_npci | #AskforRuPay | #RuPayCreditCardOnUPI | #LSGvKKR pic.twitter.com/QtPfklBV2U
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 5, 2024
Lucknow Super Giants vs Kolkata Knight Riders Player of the Match
It was very tough to look beyond Sunil Narine in this game. He scored runs and took wickets as well. Narine scored 81 off 39 balls, with six fours and seven sixes, and took 1/22 at an economy rate of 5.5. He was adjudged Man of the Match for his all-round performance.
For his explosive opening act, Sunil Narine Bags the Player of the Match Award in Match 5️⃣4️⃣ 🏆
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 5, 2024
Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/CgxfC5H2pD#TATAIPL | #LSGvKKR pic.twitter.com/zbWMQcRKZj
Sunil Narine’s performance in LSG vs KKR Match
Runs | Balls | 4s | 6s | SR | Wkts | Econ. |
81 | 39 | 6 | 7 | 207.69 | 1/22 | 5.5 |
LSG vs KKR: Key Moments
Sunil Narine’s blistering 81-run innings pushed KKR to get another big total. It was their sixth total of 200 or more this season, which is the joint-most by a team in a single IPL season.
Lucknow Super Giants kept losing wickets and were always behind the rate. Meanwhile, KKR bowled tight line to take their team to a 98-run win.