LAKR 162/7 in 20 Overs (Unmukt Chand 68(45); Zia-ul-Haq 3/16 in 3 overs) beat TSK 150/8 in 20 Overs (Devon Conway 53(39); Ali Khan 4/33 in 4 overs) by 12 runs
The Los Angeles Knight Riders clashed against the Texas Super Kings in their first game of the second season of Major League Cricket. This high-voltage clash was much-anticipated by fans all over the world and it took place at the majestic Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas. Both teams were aiming to start their tournament with a victory and lay out a strong performance from the get go. The LAKR fans were at the stadium in big numbers to see their favourite stars play.
LAKR were put into bat first by TSK on a pitch which looked to have some assistance for the bowlers. LAKR opened with the exciting pair of Sunil Narine and Jason Roy, aiming to start off aggressively and put runs on the board. However, they did not have the best starts possible, as LAKR lost a couple of wickets quickly. After that, Unmukt Chand and Shakib Al Hasan who formed a crucial partnership to steer the Knight Riders towards some stability. Unmukt looked the part out of all the batters and kept playing his shots freely. He was later joined by Nitish Kumar who played an impactful knock to keep the scoreboard ticking and helped build a partnership with Chand. Unmukt took the innings deep and batted through the innings to hold one end together. His innings of 68 from just 45 balls proved to be extremely valuable for LAKR to reach a competitive total. Despite losing Unmukt towards the latter end of the innings, Corne Dry played a crucial cameo of 12 runs in the final over to push LAKR towards the total 162. It was all upon the bowlers now to defend the target and bag the important win.
While defending the target, LAKR aimed to bowl tight lines and lengths to keep the runs in check and also aimed to pick up crucial wickets. Spencer Johnson provided the important breakthrough in the powerplay as he picked up the wicket of TSK skipper Faf Du Plessis. LAKR aimed to pick up a few more wickets to build pressure on the opposition batters. However, TSK kept on building partnerships and continued to tick the scoreboard. At one point, TSK looked as if they would cruise to the target, however Ali Khan had different plans. The fiery speedster to bowl his first over in the 13th over and picked up a whopping 3 wickets in an over. He knocked over the set batter Devon Conway with a beauty, then he picked up Josh Tromp’s wicket, courtesy of an incredible catch by Derone Davis on the boundary. Ali ended the over with Milind Kumar’s wicket and swayed the game in LAKR’s favour completely. To add to the excitement, Skipper Narine picked up the crucial wicket of Marcus Stoinis in the next over itself and the momentum completely shifted. LAKR made a comeback into the game out of nowhere, courtesy of Ali Khan’s brilliance. The Knight Riders won the match by 12 runs to start off their season on a winning note. This victory will fill the players with confidence and they will aim to churn out more such strong performances in the upcoming games. Overall, an incredible game for LAKR and their fans!
