NEWS
Follow UsAt 101/6 in the 12th over in pursuit of 209, the game looked like a lost cause for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) once Nicholas Pooran was dismissed. But then entered the 26-year-old Arshad Khan, who played quite a blinder of an innings, with a 33-ball 58 batting as low as number eight.
During his 33-ball stay, the all-rounder showed his class with three fours and five sixes, demonstrating his potential with the bat. This was one of the many things that inspired LSG to buy him at the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) Auction. While with the ball in hand, the left-arm pacer has only picked up a solitary wicket this year.
After his near-heroics against Delhi Capitals, LSG’s head coach Justin Langer couldn’t stop praising the all-rounder, calling him a very ‘good package’.
“I think Arshad is a very very good cricketer. He bowls, we saw him swing the ball early, he’s a good fieldsman and to be able to bat like that. He’s a very good package. I’ve thought the whole way through watching this tournament that he’s got huge potential and he’s shown some of that tonight,” Langer said in the post-match press conference.
“So, he really becomes more consistent, particularly with his bowling, he could be a real handful and very very good all-round cricketer,” he had to add.
The ongoing IPL edition has hugely been tilted in the favour of the batters, with scores of 250+ becoming a norm in the competition. That has irked several people, including Langer, who called the slow and sluggish wicket in Lucknow the best cricketing wicket in the competition.
"I think Lucknow wicket is the best cricket wicket in the competition because there has been a real contest between bat and ball. Whereas a lot of this tournament has been one-sided towards the bat,” he added.
Chasing 209, LSG got off to a poor start, losing four wickets, but Nicholas Pooran's blitz took them to 73, keeping them in the hunt to chase down the total. However, once Pooran was dismissed for a 27-ball 61, the game was tilted in Delhi’s favour.
“We haven't capitalised on the powerplay like some of the other teams have. I thought if we had been a little bit more intelligent with our batting today, it was a chaseable score on this wicket," Langer stated.
Earlier in the clash, it was a brilliant show from the South African batter Tristan Stubbs (57 off 25), which took the Capitals past the 200-run mark. Langer was in awe of the Proteas powerhouse, calling him an ‘outstanding cricketer’.
“He’s (Stubbs) a very good cricketer. My gosh! I was saying the powerplay in the first six but we’re also seeing the way some of these teams are finishing well. I think Tristan Stubbs is an outstanding cricketer and we saw that tonight,” he concluded.
LSG are in real danger of missing the playoffs after the loss to DC on Tuesday (May 14). Only a huge win against the five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians can keep LSG alive in the competition.
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