Aiden Markram revved up Lucknow Super Giants’ sluggish innings, lifting them from a score of 54 for 3 in the eighth over to a formidable total of 180 in their match against Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur.
Markram led the scoring with 66 runs, partnering effectively with Ayush Badoni who also achieved a half-century in just 33 balls. Initially not in the starting batting lineup, Badoni stepped in as an Impact Sub for Mitchell Marsh when LSG deemed it necessary to have some steadiness. Later on, David Miller and Abdul Samad took over in the last part of the game.
Badoni’s inclusion in the ninth over prevented LSG from debuting pace prodigy Mayank Yadav. The young player rose to prominence last year with his consistent 150+ speeds, but had recently completed a lengthy recovery process for various injuries.
However, Badoni did not let anyone down. After being given a second chance due to an umpire’s decision in the 10th over when he was at 7 runs, he swiftly increased his scoring in the following over by striking two consecutive fours off Sandeep Sharma. Meanwhile, Markram brilliantly countered Wanindu Hasaranga by smashing two back-to-back sixes and then dominating Maheesh Theekshana’s bowling.
During their partnership, Markram and his teammate managed to score 76 runs in only 49 balls. However, Markram was eventually caught out at long-off after making an impressive 45 off just 45 deliveries, including five fours and three sixes. By the end of the game, Hasaranga’s performance resulted in him recording figures of 4 overs, conceding 31 runs and taking two wickets.
One of his most significant wickets was taken when Rishabh Pant, who was having difficulty controlling the ball, was finally dismissed by being caught behind while attempting a reverse-sweep on a googly. This resulted in Pant scoring only 3 runs out of 9.
LSG had a shaky beginning, with Jofra Archer’s intense bowling causing Mitchell Marsh to mistime a pull shot and give a catch to Shimron Hetmyer in the 3rd over. Although Shubham Dubey dropped a high catch at square leg off Archer, Nicholas Pooran could not take advantage and was perplexed by Sandeep Sharma’s slower delivery after only scoring an additional 5 runs.
Sandeep’s ending was full of excitement, although this time he was on the receiving end of Samad’s impressive display in the final overs (30 runs off 10 balls). Samad demonstrated his worth by hitting four sixes in the last over, which resulted in 27 runs and gave LSG a boost before the break.
