END OF OVER:20 | 6 Runs 2 Wkts | LSG: 161/7 | RR: 8.05
- Krunal Pandya7 (8b)
- Mitchell Starc4-0-28-3
- Harshit Rana4-0-35-0
5:18pm A stuttering and stumbling innings. LSG, at no stage, could say that they had the momentum they needed. Rahul showed intent inside the powerplay but had to drop anchor as those around him fell and then struggled for rhythm. He perished while trying to up the ante, and the onus then transferred onto Pooran. The West Indian cleared the fence four times, and threatened to take LSG to 170. His wicket in the final over, though, put paid to those hopes.
KKR, on the other hand, would be pleased with the way they bowled. Starc set the tone early, getting the ball to move and not offering any freebies. He then returned at the death to pick up two more wickets. Narine was just as impressive during the middle overs. He used the conditions to his advantage, rarely provided width to the batters and kept attacking the stumps. Arora, Chakravarthy and Russell also bagged a wicket apiece.
KKR will be happy with what they are chasing, even if this track does look a touch trickier than usual. The hosts will also be mindful of the fact that they have never beaten LSG, and would be chomping at the bit to set that record straight. On the flip side, that is what LSG might cling on to, and their usually excellent record when defending 160-plus scores. Join us in a bit for the run-chase!
Mitchell Starc: Always nice to contribute and make an impact. We were good throughout the innings. (On the conditions) Little bit warmer than when we last played here. The wicket was probably a little bit two-paced. Some uneven bounce with the new ball. Sunny (Sunil Narine) was outstanding, barely went for a boundary. Not the biggest ground in the world but we were pretty good with the ball. (On pulling his lengths back) Part of my role is to swing the ball. On this wicket, you quickly learn that is not the way to go. We pulled it (the lengths) back a little bit and let the wicket do what it did.
Allen: "Whoever predicted Starc to get 3 wickets today, you should buy a couple of lottery tickets today. "
Arshad Khan b Starc 5 (4m 4b 1x4 0x6) SR: 125.00