IPL 2024 - KKR crushes LSG at their home with a 98-run win; occupy the top of the table

Not the game fans expected, especially towards the business end of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. This game between teams sitting at No. 2 and 3 in the IPL didn't feel like a strong contest. Match 54 saw Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) literally give up against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) after KKR posted 235 runs on the board—the highest T20 total ever posted at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium.

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From ball one, it didn't look like LSG were playing with intent, and it showed as they allowed KKR to score a 200+ total and later couldn't even chase it down. KKR went on to win very easily by 98 runs in 16.1 overs (with 24 balls to spare). With this, KKR also displaced Rajasthan Royals (RR) from the top spot and has taken the No. 1 position on the IPL points table.

Mood rn: pic.twitter.com/cgjhJfnNsd

— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) May 5, 2024

Arshin Kulkarni (9 off 7) was dismissed early by Mitchell Starc, courtesy of a brilliant catch from Ramandeep Singh. Skipper KL Rahul (25 off 21) and Marcus Stoinis (36 off 21) played a few eye-catching strokes and stitched a 50-run stand. But once the captain departed, things went out of control for LSG.

The home team kept losing wickets in a jiffy, with Sunil Narine and Varun Chakaravarthy bowling with a lot of discipline. Deepak Hooda (5 off 3), Ayush Badoni (15 off 12), and Ashton Turner (16 off 9) departed in quick succession.

Andre Russell also took two important wickets of Stoinis and Nicholas Pooran (10 off 8), effectively killing the game. Harshit Rana was also on point as he picked up a 3-fer along with Chakaravarthy.

High-Fives in the @KKRiders camp 🙌

With that they move to the 🔝 of the Points Table with 16 points 💜

Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/CgxfC5H2pD#TATAIPL | #LSGvKKR pic.twitter.com/0dUMJLasNQ

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 5, 2024

Earlier, KKR had not only lost 5 wickets but also posted 235 runs on the board in 20 overs. Sunil Narine gave the perfect start, smashing 81 off 39 balls. Philip Salt scored 32 off 14, while Angkrish Raghuvanshi added 32 off 26. Rinku Singh managed to get 16 off 11, with skipper Shreyas Iyer playing a cameo of 22 off 15. Ramandeep Singh (15 off 4) remained at the crease with Venkatesh Iyer, who faced just one ball.

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For LSG, Naveen-ul-Haq was the pick of the bowlers, taking three wickets, while Ravi Bishnoi, Yash Thakur, and Yudhvir Singh Charak—who came in as a concussion sub for Mohsin Khan—picked up one wicket each.

Teams:

Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Philip Salt(w), Sunil Narine, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Shreyas Iyer(c), Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Mitchell Starc, Varun Chakaravarthy, Harshit Rana

Impact Subs: Anukul Roy, Manish Pandey, Srikar Bharat, Sherfane Rutherford, Vaibhav Arora

Lucknow Super Giants (Playing XI): KL Rahul(w/c), Marcus Stoinis, Deepak Hooda, Nicholas Pooran, Ashton Turner, Ayush Badoni, Krunal Pandya, Ravi Bishnoi, Naveen-ul-Haq, Mohsin Khan, Yash Thakur

Impact Subs: Arshin Kulkarni, Manimaran Siddharth, Krishnappa Gowtham, Yudhvir Singh, Devdutt Padikkal.