Lucknow Super Giants defeated Punjab Kings by 21 runs in the 11th Match of Indian Premier League 2024 on Saturday. Batting first, Nicholas Pooran-led Lucknow slammed 199 runs for the loss of 8 wickets in 20 overs. Quinton de Kock (54 off 38 balls), Nicholas Pooran (42 off 21 balls) and Krunal Pandya (43 off 22 balls) played crucial knocks for Lucknow to lift the team total. Punjab’s Sam Curran took three wickets to emerge one of the leading contenders for the Purple Cap in IPL 2024.
In reply to Lucknow’s gigantic total, Punjab’s openers Shikhar Dhawan and Jonny Bairstow gave their team a solid start, registering a 102-run partnership in just 11.4 overs. But Punjab could only manage 178 runs for the loss of five wickets in 20 overs and lost the match.
Lucknow’s Mayank Yadav was adjudged the Player of the Match for his brilliant spell in the middle overs which contained the flow of runs for the opposite team. Yadav took three wickets in four overs and gave away only 27 runs.
Contenders for the Purple Cap
After Saturday’s game, two of their Punjab’s bowlers are now featuring among the top five wicket-takers in the ongoing season of the tournament. Sam Curran and Kagiso Rabada are in the fourth and fifth positions respectively in the list of highest wicket-takers in IPL 2024. Curran has four wickets to his name while Rabada has also scalped four.
Meanwhile, CSK’s Mustafizur Rahman continues to occupy the top position in the list, having taken six wickets in two games. He is currently the top contender for the coveted Purple Cap.
The second and third spots are held by two bowlers of KKR, namely, Harshit Rana and Andre Russell. Rana has scalped five while Russell has four wickets in his kitty.
As for the points table for the competing teams in IPL 2024, Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders continue to dominate, holding on to the first and second spots respectively.
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