Lucknow Super Giants qualify for Qualifier Two, Rinku fights again for KKR’s win

Saturday’s (May 20) match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Lucknow Super Giants turned out to be an exciting one. Riku Singh kept KKR’s hopes alive till the last over. However, despite his best efforts, he could not lead his team to victory. Lucknow Super Giants won by just one run and secured their place in the playoffs.

Kolkata were given a target of 177 runs to win the match. 41 runs were required in the last two overs. With Rinku Singh on the pitch, the fans’ hopes of victory remained high. In the 19th over, Rinkoon hit three fours and a six for a total of 20 runs. In the last over, Lucknow needed 21 runs to win. Vaibhav Arora was on strike. Vaibhav gave a strike to Rinku on the first ball. Rinku needed 20 off the next five balls. He hit two sixes and one four off five balls, but KKR lost the match falling just one run short.

On the other hand, Nicholas Pooran was once again seen storming for Lucknow Super Giants. Pooran scored 58 runs in 30 balls with the help of 4 fours and 5 sixes. Top-order Quinton de Kock and Prarak Mankad lost wickets with 28 and 26 respectively. Ayush Badoni, who came to bat at number six, contributed 25 runs.

Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss and decided to bowl first. Batting first, Lucknow scored 176 for 8 in 20 overs. In reply, Lucknow scored 175 for 7 in 20 overs. The win was crucial for Lucknow Super Giants as they wanted to secure their place in the playoffs. On the other hand, Kolkata’s playoff hopes were dashed even before the outcome of the match. Had KKR won this match in 8.5 overs, their team would have been in the playoff race as well.

After this match, the three playoff teams were determined. Gujarat Titans, Chennai Super Kings and Lucknow Super Giants have qualified for the playoffs. Now only one team remains to be decided. Chennai and Gujarat teams are going to face each other in Qualifier One. So who will play against Lucknow in qualifier two will be decided soon. (Lucknow Supergiants qualifies for the 2nd consecutive season!)

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