TSK 181/4 [Devon Conway 34(22), Donavan Ferreira 32*(16); Tanveer Sangha 2/32 in 4 Overs] beat LAKR 124/10 in 17.1 Overs [Alex Hales 25(17, Matthew Tromp 23(12); Noor Ahmad 4/25 in 4 Overs] by 57 runs
After a tough outing in their previous encounter, the Los Angeles Knight Riders took on the Texas Super Kings with an aim to come back strong and register their first win of the season. The Knights were gunning to take to the field and deliver a strong performance in order to pick up those crucial two points. With a better understanding of conditions, LAKR looked to make the most of this opportunity to implement a well-rounded performance. The fans cheered their hearts out creating a wonderful atmosphere around the Oakland Coliseum and were eager to see their Knights in action.
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LAKR started brilliantly after winning the toss and putting TSK into bat as Andre Russell’s searing yorker uprooted the opposition captain Faf Du Plessis stumps. The early wicket filled the bowlers with confidence as they executed their plans in wonderful fashion. With excellent rotation of the bowlers, LAKR didn’t allow TSK to get away with scoring too quickly. Wickets at regular intervals from Tanveer Sangha and Shadley Van Schalkwyk kept LAKR in the hunt to restrict the opposition to a modest total while skipper Narine delivered yet another economical spell. Despite bowling right to their plans, Donvan Ferreira’s lower order hits helped TSK reach a total of 181 at the end of first innings. The onus was now upon the batters to chase down the total and help LAKR get two points on the board.
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The run-chase didn’t start well for LAKR as they lost one of their openers early. Alex Hales held the fort at one end with expansive strokes to keep the tempo of the run chase high. However, wickets kept tumbling for LAKR at consistent intervals. No LAKR batter was able to establish himself for a long period of time as the target kept swaying away. Matthew Tromp played another important cameo in the middle which provided some hope for LAKR but the wickets just kept falling at the other end which left inevitably short of the total and as a result TSK won by 57 runs. LAKR will now get a day’s time to regroup, refocus and bounce back strongly. The Knights will be hoping to go back to the drawing board and prepare well to make a strong comeback in their next game.
