LSG survive Rinku scare to clinch one-run win against KKR, seal Playoffs spot

Lucknow Super Giants survived a Rinku Singhscare 67 not out off 33 to register a thrilling onerun win over Kolkata Knight Riders 1757 in Match No 68 of Indian Premier League IPL 2023 and qualify for the Playoffs at the Eden Gardens here on SaturdayWith this win LSG became the third team to qualify for playoffs in the ongoing IPL 2023 season having 17 points in 14 matches On the other hand KKR got eliminated after suffering a close defeatEarlier in the day Chennai Super Kings also cruised into the Playoffs after thrashing Delhi Capitals by 77 runs in Match 67 of IPL 2023 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi Now RCB Mumbai and RR will fight for that last spot with two last league matches set to be played on SundayWest Indies wicketkeeper batter Nicholas Pooran led Lucknow Super Giants fightback with a quickfire fifty 58 off 30 and guided them to 1768 in 20 oversLSG were reeling at 735 after 101 overs but Pooran stitched an attacking partnership of 74 runs for the sixth wicket with Ayush Badoni 25 off 21 and helped them post a fighting total The likes of Shardul Thakur 227 Sunil Narine 228 and Vaibhav Arora 230 picked two wickets each for KKRAlso Read Poorans sensational fifty fire LSG to 1768 in mustwin duel against KnightsChasing a fighting total openers Jason Roy and Venkatesh Iyer got KKR off to a blazing start scoring 611 after 55 overs Roy was the aggressor but Iyer wasnt far behind blazing fours and sixes indiscriminately throughout the powerplay The penultimate ball of the Powerplay saw Iyer depart for 24 off Krishnappa Gowtham but the Powerplay firmly belonged to KKRHowever the LSG spinners dragged their team back into the game by taking crucial wickets at regular intervals KKRs downslide started when legspinner Ravi Bishnoi in his very first over got rid of their skipper Nitish Rana 8 who couldnt judge the ball got an edge and his counterpart Krunal Pandya took a simple catchRoy was looking very dangerous with his 28ball 45 but LSG skipper Krunal Pandya bowled the England batter to put a big dent in KKRs run chase and leave them at 823 after 10 oversNot only did LSG manage to pick wickets at crucial times but they also put pressure on KKR batters and gave 6 6 9 and 5 runs from overs 11th to 14th In between they also got rid of Rahmanullah Gurbaz who flattered to deceive in his 15ball struggle for 10 runs before mistiming a slower one from Yash Dayal that he did not readWith bighitter Andre Russell and proven matchwinner Rinku Singh at the crease KKR needed 63 from 30 balls In the third ball of Bishnois over Russell hit a straight six and the crowd at Eden found their voices again However Bishnoi cleaned up Russell 7 in the next delivery to have the last laughFrom there on Rinku had a big responsibility on his shoulders and though the lefthander managed to hit a few boundaries and sixes he kept losing partners from the other end as Shardul Thakur 3 also couldnt do much and got out to Yash Thakur Two balls later Sunil Narine fell in a suicidal runoutKKR needed 41 from 12 balls and Rinku decided to put up a fight He smashed NaveenulHaq for three four and a six scoring a total of 20 overs in the 19th over to keep KKR alive in the chaseWith 21 needed from six balls Rinku Singh got the strike in the second ball of the over and he hit Yash Thakur for two sixes and a four but it was not enough as KKR eventually fell short by 1 runEarlier asked to bat first LSG had a sedate start before Harshit Rana got rid of Karan Sharma in the third over Karan ended up getting late on the hook to a short ball and handed Shardul Thakur an easy catchHowever the arrival of Prerak Mankad at the crease made Quinton De Cock open up too Both De Cock and Mankad hammered the KKR bowlers for the rest of the Powerplay scoring 40 runs in 21 balls as LGG were 541 after 6 oversIt was Vaibhav Arora who brought KKR back in the game by removing both Mankad 26 off 20 and the inform batter Marcus Stoinis 0 in the same over In a mustwin game LSG needed a big contribution from his captain but Krunal Pandya couldnt do much scoring just nine runs before getting out to Sunil NarineVery soon De Kock 28 off 27 got out and things looked bleak for LSG Pooran however came with positive intent and started on a brisk note He attacked Varun Chakravarthy but showed a lot of respect to his West Indian teammate Narine while Badoni perfectly played the second fiddleLSG were hoping that the two batters would make the most of the death overs but both Badoni and Pooran got out in the 18th and 19th overs respectively However thanks to their massive hits before getting out LSG managed to squeeze 54 off the last 4 overs and managed to reach 1768 in 20 oversBrief scoresLucknow Super Giants 1768 in 20 overs Nicholas Pooran 58 Shardul Thakur 227 Sunil Narine 228 Vaibhav Arora 230 beat Kolkata Knight Riders 1757 in 20 overs Rinku Singh 67 Jason Roy 45 Ravi Bishnoi 232 Yash Thakur 231 by 1 runThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed 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