Visakhapatnam, Mar 24: Nicholas Pooran (75) and Mitchell Marsh (72) helped Lucknow Super Giants put up a formidable total of 209/8 in 20 overs against Delhi Capitals in the fourth match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium

The Lucknow Super Giants’ (LSG) top-order put on an explosive display but a dramatic collapse late in the innings saw them squander a strong position. The power-hitting of Mitchell Marsh and Nicholas Pooran gave LSG a flying start, but Delhi’s bowlers fought back hard in the final overs to restrict the damage.

LSG had a new-look opening pair with Aiden Markram and Mitchell Marsh facing off against Australia’s pace spearhead Mitchell Starc. While Starc started with four tight dot balls, Marsh was in no mood to play it safe. The Aussie all-rounder launched into Starc, smashing a six over deep square leg, before unleashing a barrage of boundaries. Markram too joined in, muscling a straight six, but Marsh dominated the proceedings, dispatching Starc’s deliveries to the fence at will.

Starc, who had dismissed Marsh three times in four previous T20 meetings, found himself on the receiving end as Marsh raced to 20 runs off just four balls against his Australian teammate.

Just when LSG seemed to be running away in the powerplay, young Vipraj Nigam—a talented spinner from Uttar Pradesh—provided a breakthrough with his maiden IPL wicket. He deceived Markram (15) with a beautifully disguised googly, drawing a miscue that was safely held by Starc at long-off.

However, if DC thought they could slow things down, Nicholas Pooran had other ideas. The West Indian powerhouse blasted three consecutive sixes off Nigam, sending one straight down the ground, another over midwicket, and the third beyond long-on. Even a dropped catch couldn’t save DC, as Pooran continued his onslaught.

LSG had struggled with slow starts in IPL 2024, but with Marsh leading the charge, their fortunes changed. He played from deep in his crease, picked his lengths perfectly, and pulled with authority. His 21-ball fifty was his joint-fastest in T20 cricket, and his 43 off 19 balls in the powerplay was the highest he had ever scored in the phase in the IPL.

Marsh, having dominated the DC pacers, eventually fell victim to Mukesh Kumar. A well-disguised slower delivery cramped him for room, and Marsh mistimed his pull straight to long-on, departing for a blazing 72 off 36 balls. But there was no respite for DC.

Pooran was in destructive mood, and when occasional off-spinner Tristan Stubbs was brought into the attack, the carnage continued.

After a dot ball to start the over, Pooran smashed four consecutive sixes, sending the DC bowlers into disarray. He reached his fifty off just 24 balls, and by the time he was done, he had hammered 75 off 30 balls, including six fours and seven sixes.

Just as it seemed LSG would race past 200, Delhi Capitals clawed their way back into the contest. The turning point came in the 14th over when Mitchell Starc cleaned up Pooran with a perfect full delivery at 140 km/h. Pooran swung across the line, missed, and saw his stumps rattled.

From 157/3 in 13.5 overs, LSG suffered a stunning collapse, losing four wickets for just 17 runs between the 14th and 17th overs. Kuldeep Yadav trapped Badoni and ran out Shardul Thakur, while Axar Patel tightened the screws with a tight over.

The last three overs saw LSG batters score 31 runs courtesy of back-to-back sixes from David Miller in the last two deliveries, which took them to 209/8 in 20 overs.

For Delhi Capitals, Starc (3-42) and Yadav (2-20) starred with the ball as Nigama nd Kumar took a wicket each

Brief scores: Lucknow Super Giants 209/8 in 20 overs (Nicholas Pooran 75, Mitchell Marsh 72; Mitchell Starc 3-42, Kuldeep Yadav 2-20) against Delhi Capitals

--IANS

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