The 21st game of the Indian Premier League (IPL) featured a fiery clash between the KL Rahul-led Lucknow Super Giants and Punjab Kings at the Ekana Sports City Stadium in Lucknow on Saturday, April 15.
Losing the toss, Lucknow came in to bat first, and skipper KL Rahul delivered after a string of poor performances. The 30-year-old scored 74 runs in 56 deliveries, and his knock was crucial for the hosts in posting 159 runs on the board after the first innings.
As Punjab came in to chase the target, the side did not get off to the best of starts as they lost a couple of early wickets. However, after Sikandar Raza’s brilliant half-century, the responsibility fell onto the shoulders of 27-year-old Shahrukh Khan to finish the game and propel the Sam Curran-led side to a win. He did stand out, scoring 23* runs in 10 deliveries and winning the game for his side.
Speaking about his performance, Shahrukh reflected on the importance of Raza’s innings which set up the game for him. "Really feeling good after the first innings, it was important to play a par game (in the chase). Raza played superbly and set it up for me. My mindset was just to stay with the ball; the practice is working out to me," Shahrukh Khan said in the post-match presentation.
Cheeky shots don't work for me: Shahrukh Khan
Continuing upon the same, the 27-year-old opined about his style of play and how confident he felt about finishing the game and clinching the win for Punjab in the last over.
"I'm powerful, cheeky shots don't work for me, so I try to hit straight, and it's good to use my muscles. I just told Brar to go for the big hit since it was the last (5th) ball of the over, unfortunately, he got out, but I was confident I could finish in the last over," he concluded.
After Raza and Shahrukh's fabulous knocks, Punjab Kings managed to defeat Lucknow Super Giants, winning the game by two wickets and moving to fourth place in the IPL points table with six points in five matches. On the other hand, Lucknow find themselves in second place with six points in five matches as well.
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