Har match Rinku hi jitaega kya’ – Fans react as LSG confirm their playoff qualification in IPL 2023 with 1-run victory over KKR

Lucknow Super Gaints (LSG) confirmed their qualification in the playoffs of IPL 2023 for the second consecutive season after they defeated Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by just 1 run in match number 68 of the season at the Eden Gardens. Batting first, LSG posted a total of 176 runs for the loss of 8 wickets, powered by the half-century by Nicholas Pooran. In reply, even Rinku Singh’s heroics couldn’t work as KKR were restricted to 175 runs losing 7 wickets.

LSG didn’t had a great start as they lost 5 wickets for just 73 runs in 10.1 overs. After that, Ayush Badoni and Nicholas Pooran put up a partnership of 74 runs for the sixth wicket. Baodni got out in the last ball of the 18th over after scoring 25 runs off 21 balls. A couple of deliveries later, Pooran also lost his wicket after a well-made 58 runs off 30 balls with four fours and five sixes.

Krishnappa Gowtham added the finishing touches as LSG go past 170 runs after their 20 overs even after a bad start. For KKR, Vaibhav Arora, Shardul Thakur and Sunil Narine took 2-2 wickets. While Harshit Rana and Varun Chakravarthy shared a wicket each.

KKR lost momentum after a good start

Chasing the winning total, KKR were off to a flying start as Jason Roy and Venkatesh Iyer added 65 runs for the first wicket in 5.5 overs. Iyer got out after scoring 24 runs off 15 balls with three fours and a maximum. A couple of overs later, skipper Nitish Rana also got out after scoring just 8 runs. While in the next over, Roy also got out after scoring 45 runs off 28 balls with seven fours and a maximum.

After that, Riknu Singh once again took charge of the innings and took the innings further with wickets falling regularly from the other end. The match went down to the last over where KKR needed 21 runs to win. Rinku tried hard to take his team down the line but couldn’t do it as KKR fell short of just 1 run from LSG’s total. The 25-year-old remained unbeaten by smashing 67 runs off 33 balls with six fours and four sixes. For LSG, Ravi Bishnoi and Yash Thakur took 2-2 wickets, while skipper Krunal Pandya and Krishnappa Gowtham shared a wicket each.