In an away encounter, Shreyas Iyer-led Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) took on KL Rahul-led Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in match 54 of the Indian Premier League 2024 (IPL 2024) at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari. Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Sunday, May 5.
After being invited to bat first, KKR made sure to punish LSG for this decision. A brutal innings of 81 runs from Sunil Narine and good contributions from other batsmen propelled KKR to a massive total of 235/6.
Defending the total, the Kolkata Knight Riders bowling unit brought out their best game and bowled out the Lucknow Super Giants for 137 in 16.1 overs to register a 98-run win. Harshit Rana and Varun Chakravarthy picked up three wickets each, while Andre Russell (2), Mitchell Starc (1) and Sunil Narine (1) were also among the wickets.
At the post-match presentation ceremony, Shreyas Iyer spoke about his toss losing streak and said that there has been havoc in the KKR dressing room as everyone asks him about the toss losses. Shreyas Iyer said:
“The last 6 games there has been havoc in the locker room, teammates come in and ask skip what is happening, we are losing shots, but we are winning games, that is what matters.”
Shreyas Iyer further spoke about the opening duo of Sunil Narine and Phil Salt and stated that the duo plays positive cricket and lays the foundation for big totals. Shreyas Iyer explained:
“We had a great start in the power play. A combination of left and right makes things difficult for the opposition. It’s about freedom, about going out and expressing yourself. We want to go out and be positive whatever the situation, sometimes it doesn’t work “But sometimes yes. They have been splendid with us, the way they play their shots is pure happiness. They are preparing us and giving us momentum and no matter what the situation is, we are playing with a positive mentality.”
Lucknow Super Giants vs Kolkata Knight Riders: Head to Head Record
Shreyas Iyer & Co. headed into their second clash of IPL 2024 against Lucknow Super Giants with a poor head-to-head record. They were losing 1-3 in the 4 matches played between the teams, with their first win over the Lucknow-based franchise coming on 14 April 2024, with 8 wickets and 26 balls remaining.
Lucknow Super Giants joined the Indian Premier League in 2022 and in that season they played Kolkata Knight Riders twice. In the first match on May 7, LSG beat KKR by 75 runs and Avesh Khan (3/19) bagged the Man of the Match award. In the second match on 18 May, LSG won again but this time in a very close match by 2 runs with Quinton de Kock winning the PoTM for his exceptional and unbeaten knock of 140 runs.
The LSG vs KKR clash was also seen once in IPL 2023 and it was absolutely thrilling which LSG managed by a single run with Nicholas Pooran (58) winning the Man of the Match award.
Meanwhile, now after the conclusion of the second match of the Indian Premier League 2024 between Lucknow Super Giants and Kolkata Knight Riders, the head-to-head record is LSG 3 – 2 KKR.