Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) captain Nicholas Pooran spoke about what his team faced in the match against Punjab Kings (PBKS). The eleventh match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 was played between both teams at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow.
Lucknow Super Giants emerged victorious by 21 runs and snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. Stand-in captain Nicholas Pooran made sure to make an immediate impact and helped his team win their first match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024.
Lucknow Super Giants had a great outing with the bat as they put 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 got off to an excellent start to their innings as Shikhar Dhawan (70) and Jonny Bairstow (42) added 102 runs for the opening partnership. It looked like they would pave the way to an easy victory and even the Lucknow Super Giants also looked down. However, debutant Mayank Yadav impressed everyone with his performance.
He spit 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 commented on the victory and said that they were delighted to win in front of their home crowd. He admitted that Shikhar Dhawan and Jonny Bairstow batted well but credited his players for turning things around. During the post-match presentation, he explained:
“Wonderful start, it’s nice to win in front of the home fans. We had conversations and talked about how to get off to a good start. He talked about how to get the right combinations. It was a good total. It is a big place, one side is big and the other is short.
“It is about getting wickets and boundaries. It will just be a challenge. Shikhar and Bairstow played well. “They didn’t take the game away from us because we got wickets at the right time.”
Mayank Yadav was the story of the night: Nicholas Pooran in awe of the young pacer
Nicholas Pooran was in awe of the young fast bowler and said the pacer showed the world what he was capable of. The stand-in captain also praised Mayank Yadav for his accuracy and credited IPL for providing a platform to these 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 whole world how good he is. He is not only fast, but also precise. It is the beauty of the IPL that allows local players to perform.
“Wonderful platform. Every game is an opportunity, expect them to improve with each game. The fielders have contributed, as a hitter you can’t ask for anything.”
Lucknow Super Giants will next be seen in action when they take on Royal Challengers Bengaluru on April 2.