Lucknow Super Giants beat Mumbai Indians by 36 runs
Mumbai, Apr 24: KL Rahul once again proved to be Mumbai Indians' nemesis as his magnificent second hundred set up a comfortable 36-run win for Lucknow Super Giants' and in turn knocked the five-time champions out of this edition of IPL.
Rahul continued his fairytale run against MI, slamming an unbeaten 103 off 62 balls with the help of 12 fours and four maximums as LSG posted 168 for 6 after being invited to bat at the Wankhade stadium.
In reply, Rohit Sharma looked good during his 31-ball 39 but MI suffered a collapse once again to slump to 67 for four.
Tilak Varma hit a gritty 27-ball 38 to give MI some hope before Lucknow restricted them to 132 for 8 for their fifth win in 8 matches to grab the fourth position in the overall points standing.
For MI, it was another collective failure as they slumped to their eighth successive loss on the trot, the only team in the history of the tournament to achieve the dubious record as they remain at the bottom.
For LSG, all the bowlers chipped in with Krunal Pandya taking 3 for 19 and Dushmantha Chameera conceded only 14 runs in 4 overs.
Rahul, who had scored a century against MI a few days back, looked in imperious form but he didn't get enough help from the other batters.
Manish Pandey had a 58-run stand with Rahul but he lacked intent during his run-a-ball 22, while Marcus Stoinis (0), Krunal Pandya (1) and Deepak Hooda (10) paraded back to the hut in quick succession.
Later, Rahul added another 47 off 25 balls with young Ayush Badoni (14) to take LSG to a competitive score.
For MI, Australian Daniel Sams had a forgettable evening as he conceded 40 runs in his four overs.
Kieron Pollard pulled things back a bit as he snapped two wickets in two overs, while Riley Meredith accounted for two but conceded 40, with Jasprit Bumrah once again displaying his brilliance as an all-format great.
Chasing 169, Ishan Kishan looked low in confidence but with Rohit in full flow, MI reached 43 for no loss in the first six overs.
The MI skipper smashed five boundaries and a six during the powerplay to raise hopes of a successful chase.
Ravi Bishnoi, however, put Kishan out of his misery in the 8th over, while Mohsin Khan, who replaced an injured Avesh Khan in the XI, got rid off Dewald Brevis (3) for his maiden IPL wicket.
Rohit then ended up playing across the line as Krunal foxed his former MI skipper, leaving Mumbai at 58 for 3.
Suryakumar Yadav (7) then walked back after playing an aweful shot to hand Ayush Badoni his first IPL wicket.
Tilak smashed two fours and as many sixes but once he was sent back by Jason Holder it was all over for MI.
Earlier, the MI bowlers were on the money at the start with Bumrah dealing the first blow, removing Quinton de Kock (10) with Rohit Sharma taking a low dipping catch.
MI used four bowlers in the powerplay with LSG managing only 32 for one in the first six overs.
Rahul and Pandey struggled to up the ante as pressure was maintained from both ends.
Rahul then sprung into action with a maximum over deep mid-wicket off Unadkat, while Pandey deposited Meredith into the sightscreen.
THe LSG skipper then pulled one across the deep mid-wicket, before cutting the next ball over point for successive boundaries as the Lucknow team racked up 17 runs to reach 72 for one at the half way stage.
Bumrah was brought back into the attack but Rahul send him across deep square leg and then picked up a single to complete another fifty.
Pandey's (22) struggle ended with a top-edge off a short ball from Pollard to Meredith.
Rahul clobbered Sams over long-on to leave the bowler shaken, who ended up bowling three successive wide balls.
The next legitimate delivery was sent over deep backward point by Rahul but the bowler somewhat redeemed himself in the fifth ball with Marcus Stoinis holing out to Tilak varma at deep mid-wicket.
After Pollard and Meredith removed Pandya and Hooda quickly, Ayush Badoni joined Rahul, who continued to get the boundaries for LSG.
Rahul slammed Bumrah for a couple of fours, before smashing Unadkat for three more in the next over.
He reached three figures with a six off Meredith.
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Kho Kho World Cup: Indian women's team crowned champion
New Delhi: The Indian women's team emerged champion in the inaugural Kho Kho World Cup with a dominant 78-40 victory in the summit clash against Nepal here on Sunday.
On a memorable night at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium here, India produced a masterclass of speed, strategy and skill, dishing out a clinical show.
A brisk start marked Turn 1 as the Indian attackers took charge of the proceedings. Three batches in the Nepal women were out by simple touches on 7 occasions, putting 14 points to India's kitty.
Skipper Priyanka Ingle was in the best form with multiple touch points to her name, as the hosts started off in an excellent manner. This was enough to take the Women in Blue to 34 points and preventing a single Dream Run for the Nepal team.
Manmati Dhami got Vaishnavi Pawar, and B Samjhana eliminated Priyanka Ingle but B Chaithra took India's first batch of Turn 2 into the Dream Run.
๐ธ ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ณ๐
— Kho Kho World Cup India 2025 (@Kkwcindia) January 19, 2025
Congratulations to #TeamIndia women for claiming the ๐๐ข๐ซ๐ฌ๐ญ-๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ ๐๐ก๐จ ๐๐ก๐จ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฉ ๐#KhoKhoWorldCup #KKWC2025 #TheWorldGoesKho #Khommunity #KhoKho #KKWCWomen pic.twitter.com/tqlBPbTIdc
It wasn't for long, though, as Dipa completed the ALL OUT just moments later. This got the side back into the game but they only managed to score 24 points at the end of Turn 2, with an 11-point deficit at half time.
India were once again the dominant force in Turn 3, never allowing the Nepal defenders to settle in their stride. BK Dipa was a regular for Nepal but it went in vain throughout, ensuring that the Indians edged closer to the trophy.
Chaithra was the orchestrator of the Dream Run for India, taking the score to a massive 78 points in Turn 4. Their batch went on for a massive 5 minutes and 14 seconds, closing out the game for India and confirming them as the first-ever champions of the Kho Kho World Cup.
India's path to glory had included commanding victories over South Korea, Iran and Malaysia in the group stages, followed by triumph against Bangladesh in the quarter-finals and a masterful win over South Africa in the semi-finals.
๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐||
— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) January 19, 2025
Indian๐ฎ๐ณ Women's Team beats Nepal 78-40; Clinches the inaugural #KhoKhoWorldCup Trophy. #Finals | #KhoKhoWorldCup | #TheWorldGoesKho | #BharatvsNepal | @Kkwcindia | @Media_SAI | @YASMinistry | pic.twitter.com/mh8NJuD6RX
