In a scintillating showdown between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in Match 68 of the IPL 2024, KKR emerged victorious with a commanding 98-run win. Narine’s consistency and impactful batting performance questioning him for the title of the best opener in IPL 2024. His ability to adapt to different match situations and deliver match-winning performances make him a valuable asset for KKR.

kkr vs lsg match 68 report , KKR’s Convincing Win: Defeating LSG by a Whopping 98 Runs

Toss Result of kkr VS lsg match 68 ::

LSG, Lucknow Super Giants won the toss and opt to bowl.

Venue::

Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow.

Playing XI for KKR::

Philip Salt (wk), Sunil Narine, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Shreyas Iyer (c), Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Mitchell Starc, Varun Chakaravarthy, Harshit Rana

Substitutes::

Anukul Roy, Manish Pandey, Vaibhav Arora, Srikar, Bharat, Sherfane Rutherford

Playing XI for LSG::

KL Rahul (c & wk), Marcus Stoinis, Deepak Hooda, Nicholas Pooran, Ashton Turner, Ayush Badoni, Krunal Pandya, Ravi Bishnoi, Naveen-ul-Haq, Mohsin Khan, Yash Thakur.

Substitutes::

Anukul Roy, Manish Pandey, Vaibhav Arora, Srikar, Bharat, Sherfane Rutherford

Playing XI for LSG::

KL Rahul (c & wk), Marcus Stoinis, Deepak Hooda, Nicholas Pooran, Ashton Turner, Ayush Badoni, Krunal Pandya, Ravi Bishnoi, Naveen-ul-Haq, Mohsin Khan, Yash Thakur

Substitutes::

Arshin Kulkarni, Manimaran Siddharth, Krishnappa Gowtham, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Devdutt Padikkal.

kkr vs lsg match 68 report, 1st innings KKR’s Batting :: 

At a glance :: Salt 32(14), Narine 81(39), Angkrish Raghuvanshi 32(26), Russell 12(8), Rinku Singh 16(11), Shreyas Iyer 23(15), Ramandeep Singh25(6), Venkatesh Iyer 1(1).

AS LSG won the toss, KKR has to bat in the first innings. LSG loves to chase, as we witnessed the historic run chase in T20 cricket by these Lucknow Giants.

As usual, kkr send Salt and Narine for opening. This destructive opening pair is known for fast & fearless batting in power-play overs. With that mindset, they start their innings.

On the very first over they scored 10 runs.

Narine’s Fifty::

Narine continued his aggressive batting style, and with that, he reached his fifty in just 27 balls. With his fifty KKR reached 70 in just 6 overs. Salt departs on 32(14). Narine Scored 81(39), with the help of seven 6s, and six 4S, which is the joint-most number of sixes hit by a batsman in an innings in the IPL 2024 season. Both openers succeed on their mission to give KKR a fast & fiery start, in power-play overs. Salt played a supportive role with Narine. After salt dismissal, Raghuvanshi came on to the crease.

Powerpcak Power-play ::

Narine and salt both these left-right combinations scored a 50+ partnership in KKR VS LSG 68th match.

Raghuvanshi’s Role::

Raghuvanshi played a supporting role with Narine. Raghuvanshi focused only on rotating the strike, as Narien continued his domination.

Ravi Bishnoi restricts Narine from his 100::

On 11.6 over, Ravi Bishnoi got the big wicket of Sunil Narine 81(39), with the help of six 4S and 7 6S. After 13 over KKR scored 155-2, 7overs game was still left.

Is KKR middle order is weak link ?

After a good start KKR’s middle couldn’t contribute too much. After Narine’s wicket no one from Raghuvanshi to Venkatesh Iyer, no one can’t stand in tall.

• KKR middle Batting – 

Russell- 12(8)

Rinku Singh- 16(11)

Shreyas Iyer- 23(15)

Ramandeep Singh- 25(6)

Venkatesh Iyer- 1(1)

Ramandeep Singh’s aggressive batting::

When wickets are falling batsmen struggle for boundaries, Ramadeep Sing batted like a superman, he scored 25 in just 6 balls with a strike rate of 400+, Incredible hitting ability impressed fans.

Final Score::

KKR finished with a humongous total of 235 runs for the loss of 6 wickets, the highest T20 total at the venue, and the first-ever 200+ score in Lucknow.

PBKS  Innings::

At a glance :: KL Rahul 25(21), Arshin Kulkarni 9(7), Marcus Stoinis 36(21), Deepak Hooda 5(3), Nicholas Pooran 10(8), Ayush Badoni15(12), Ashton Turner 16(9), Krunal Pandya 5(6), Yudhvir Singh Charak 7(7), Ravi Bishnoi 2(3), Naveen-ul-Haq 0(0).

Total:: 137-10 (16.1 ov)

LSG’s Batting Struggle::

LSG faced an early setback as Arshin Kulkarni threw his wicket early. Strac gave the first breakthrough for KKR. This early loss put pressure on the incoming batsmen to stabilize the innings.

LSG’s Power-play score::

LSG failed to take full advantage of their power-play. Lucknow just scored 55-1 in the first six overs. Which was not bad. But, when you are chasing a gigantic total like 235 in  20 over, then you have to take a calculated risk.

KKR holds a record on his name, as the most wicket taker team in power-play.

·         Most wickets taken in power-play by teams in IPL 2024,::

1. KKR – 21 wkts.
2. GT – 20 wkts.
3. LSG -19 wkts.
4. RR- 18 wkts.
5. DC – 17 wkts

Rahul-Stoinis partnership::

Kl Rahul & Stoinis build a solid partnership of 50 runs, in 7.3 overs game. They still gave hope of chasing this total, in the past Stoinis did that already against CSK.

Both batsmen showed great composure and skill to weather the storm and start rebuilding the innings. They not only focused only hitting boundaries, they rotated strike as well.

In order to accelerate the run rate on 7.3 over Rahul took the risk and tried to hit it through square leg but got out, on Harshit Rans’s delivery and the 50-run partnership got broken.

Stoinis’s Hulk mode on, Explosive hitting::

Stoinis, played an explosive innings, showcasing his power-hitting abilities. He middles the ball with a bat, finds the boundaries regularly, and puts the KKR bowlers under immense pressure. For his aggressive batting for some time, KKR looks in trouble, and reminds us of the CSK’s innings. Stoini’s innings against KKR provided the much-needed momentum to LSG’s innings.

But he also got out by Russell on 9.1 over. Stoinis scored 36(21) [4s-4 6s-2].

Middle-order wobbles::

Despite the promising start provided by Rahul and Stoinis, LSG encountered a middle-order collapse, losing quick wickets in succession. With the falling of wickets, momentum shifted towards KKR and LSG put them on the back foot once again. The middle-order batsmen failed to capitalize on the platform set by the top order, leaving LSG in a precarious position.

After 14 over LSG 125-7, which was not good, their top order set the stage for the middle-order batsman. One of the names is very concerning from LSG’s pov, Ashton Turner.

Auston hardly scored a 30+ score in this IPL 2024 season. Just have an eye on his record.

• Ashton Turner’s scores in IPL::

• 0 (1)
• 0 (1)
• 0 (1)
• 3* (7)
• 5 (9)
• 16 (9)

Late resistance::

Despite the middle-order collapse, LSG showed resilience towards the end of their innings. LSG’s lower-order batsman try very hard with valuable runs to help LSG post a respectable total on the board. Their late resistance ensured 137 on board after 16.1 over.

Bowling Masterclass by KKR::

Have to say on the pitch KKR’s bowlers maintained the pressure on LSG throughout the innings. Sunil Narine, Varun Chakaravarthy, and Harshit Rana did a great job with impressive and disciplined bowling. They restricted LSG’s batsmen from scoring freely, ultimately leading to LSG’s downfall.

Conclusion::

Overall, LSG’s innings was a mix of promising partnerships, explosive hitting, and middle-order wobbles. They would have been disappointed with the way they lost momentum in the middle overs.

LSG’s track record at home::

• Mats: 7
• Won: 4
• Lost: 3

What LSG Captain | KL Rahul said?

“It was a lot of runs to be scored in the second innings. When you are chasing a big total, you are trying to go too hard and you end up losing wickets. Just a poor performance overall. We didn’t (hit our lengths on a consistent basis), just been a poor performance overall with bat, ball, and in the field”.

He said that after the match.