IPL 2024: SALT AND STARC LEAD KOLKATA TO BIG WIN AGAINST LUCKNOW AS CHENNAI BEAT MUMBAI
Phil Salt's rapid 89 and three wickets for Mitchell Starc helped Kolkata Knight Riders race to a crushing eight-wicket win over Lucknow Super Giants on Sunday.
Starc's 3-28 kept Lucknow down to 161-7 at Kolkata's Eden Gardens, with the other Knight Riders' bowlers putting in disciplined performances after their side elected to field first.
The Australian left-arm quick became the most expensive buy in IPL history after Kolkata shelled out $2.98 million for his services.
Opener Salt then steered the two-time IPL winners to their target in 15.4 overs for their fourth victory in five matches this season.
It was the English wicketkeeper-batsman's second half-century in the current IPL edition after he scored 54 in his team's opening win last month.
Salt held the chase together despite Kolkata losing two wickets including opener Sunil Narine for six.
He put on 120 runs with skipper Shreyas Iyer, who made 38, smashing 14 fours and three sixes in his 47-ball knock.
Players have been jostling to impress their national selectors ahead of the upcoming T20 World Cup starting June 1 in the West Indies and the US.
Starc started slowly, leaking 10 runs in his first over, but came back strongly and sent back Deepak Hooda in his third with the help of a diving catch at backward point from Ramandeep Singh.
Mystery spinner Narine choked the flow of runs and returned figures of 1-17 before Starc bowled the 20th over for just six runs and two wickets.
He got the dangerous Nicholas Pooran on the first ball, caught behind for 45, and finished with a yorker to bowl Arshad Khan.
In yesterday’s late game Chennai Super Kings eased to a 20-run victory against Mumbai Indians at Wankhede Stadium.
The visitors were put into bat and were immediately under the cosh as opener Ajinkya Rahane was dismissed by Gerald Coetzee, caught by skipper Hardik Pandya for five.
But Rachin Ravindra (21 off 16) and Ruturaj Gaikwad steadied the ship, taking Chennai to 60 before Ravindra fell to Shreyas Gopal, caught by wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan. That brought Shivam Dube to the crease and he and Gaikwad took the score to 150 before Gaikwad, who hit five sixes and five fours in his total of 69 off 40, was caught by Mohammad Nabi off Pandya.
Dube finished unbeaten on 66 off 38 balls with 10 fours and two maximums as first Daryl Mitchell (17 runs off 14) and then MS Dhoni (20 off 4, including three sixes) helped to take the total to a commanding 206 for 4 off their 20 overs.
Pandya was the pick of the hosts’ bowlers, finishing with 2-43. Coetzee went for 35 runs off his four overs.
In response, India captain Rohit Sharma made a superb 105 not out off 63 balls with 11 fours and five sixes but it wasn’t enough to get his side across the line. Ishan Kishan started solidly, making 23 off 15, but then Suryakumar Yadav went for a two-ball duck.
Only Tilak Varma (31 off 20) made any contribution after that as Chennai’s Matheesha Pathirana finished with 4-28.
Chennai beat Mumbai by 20 runs - in pictures