IPL 2022, LSG vs MI: Lucknow Super Giants ride on Rahul's ton as horror run continues for Mumbai Indians

Slams third ton vs IPL giants and 2nd of the season as LSG hand Mumbai their 8th lossIt seemed to be a repeat of what happened a week back. In the first leg against Mumbai Indians, Lucknow Super Giants skipper KL Rahul had scored an unbeaten 103 off 60 balls at the Brabourne Stadium. On Sunday, a kilometre down the road, at the Wankhede Stadium, Rahul smashed 103 off 62 balls (12x4, 4x6) to propel LSG to a competitive total of 168/6 against MI in the return leg between the two sides. AS IT HAPPENEDThe chase was a stuttering one. Rohit Sharma (39 off 31b; 5x4, 1x6) went off the blocks quickly, but at the other end, Ishan Kishan endured a horrible stay at the crease. Kishan scored 8 off 20 balls and just didn't find his timing. In the next four overs after Kishan's departure, MI lost the wickets of Dewald Brevis, Rohit and Suryakumar Yadav in quick succession. At 67/4, a win for Mumbai was an uphill task. Tilak Varma (38 off 27b; 2x4, 2x6) and Kieron Pollard (19 off 20b; 1x6) added 57 for the fifth wicket but it proved too big a mountain to climb. In the end, Mumbai fell short by 36 runs.

In the first half, Rahul was in imperious form. On a pitch that was holding up a bit, he played his strokes with ease. Rahul cut, pulled, played the cover drive, and also used the long handle in the slog overs with aplomb. Consider this: if Rahul ended with a strike-rate of 166.12, the next best was Ayush Badoni, who scored his 14 runs (off 11 balls) at a strike-rate of 127.27.

All other batters found the going tough. Rahul's opening partner, Quinton de Kock mishit a low full-toss from Jasprit Bumrah straight to Rohit Sharma at short cover. The big-hitting South African could manage a 9-ball 10. Next in, Manish Pandey could hit a