Prabhsimran Singh’s blistering 91 off 48 balls helped Punjab Kings post a massive 236/5 against Lucknow Super Giants at the HPCA Stadium, Dharamshala
Lucknow Super Giants won the toss and chose to field first, which meant Punjab Kings had to bat. Prabhsimran Singh and Priyansh Arya opened the innings, while Akash Singh, playing in his first match of the season, led the attack for LSG. Akash had an impressive start, dismissing the in-form Priyansh Arya for just 1 run off 4 balls, thanks to some early seam movement that resulted in a straightforward catch for Mayank Yadav.Â
Jos Inglish's Blistering Knock
Jos Inglish was promoted up the order in this match and aggressively targeted Mayank Yadav, hitting him for three consecutive sixes in the second over. While Akash Singh managed to contain the runs in his second over, Mayank conceded two more sixes in the fourth over, this time to Prabhsimran Singh.
Akash Singh continued to shine as he claimed his second wicket in the powerplay by dismissing Jos Inglish for 30 runs off 14 balls. At the end of the powerplay, PBKS finished with 66 runs for the loss of 2 wickets, with Prabhsimran Singh and Shreyas Iyer at the crease.
The two in-form batsmen formed another strong partnership, consistently finding boundaries and gaining control of the game during the middle overs. Rishabh Pant's attempts to break this partnership through rotation of bowlers did not pay off, as they added a 50-run stand.
Prabsimran and Shreyas Iyer Shine again
Prabhsimran Singh reached his half-century in just 30 balls, marking his third consecutive half-century of the tournament. At the end of 11 overs, PBKS were well-positioned for a big finish, scoring 109 runs for 2 wickets.
Digvesh Singh provided a crucial breakthrough by dismissing PBKS captain Shreyas Iyer for 45 runs off 25 balls, following a previous hit to the boundary from Iyer. After 13 overs, PBKS's score was 134 for 3, with Prabhsimran Singh and Nehal Wadhera batting.
Nehal Wadhere pushed for quick runs, but he was dismissed after a vigorous start, scoring 16 runs off 9 balls. Shashank joined Prabhsimran Singh at the crease; Shashank, who had been quiet in recent games, picked up the pace in the death overs. One of his sixes against Avesh Khan landed on the roof of the Dharamshala stadium.
Prabhsimran continued to contribute significantly, and PBKS reached 200 runs at the end of 18 overs with 12 balls remaining. The pair added a quick 50-run partnership in just 16 balls, pushing the score to 212 for 4 at the end of the 18th over.
Shashank Finish it off in style
Rishabh Pant called upon Digvesh Singh to bowl the penultimate over, and he delivered for his captain by conceding just 8 runs while dismissing Prabhsimran Singh for 91 runs off 48 balls. Avesh Khan returned to bowl the final over, and although he started well, Stoinis hit a huge six over the cover. Despite Avesh's comeback with his next delivery, Shashank ensured to finish the match with a six, contributing to a total of 18 runs in the final over. PBKS concluded their innings at 236 for 5 in 20 overs.
Prabhsimran was the star of the show with his impressive score of 91 runs off 48 balls, narrowly missing out on a century. Overall, the entire batting unit of PBKS stepped up, setting a challenging target of 237 runs for Lucknow Super Giants. LSG will need to maximize their powerplay if they hope to chase down this massive total in Dharamshala.
