Lucknow win last-ball IPL thriller after Pooran blitz

BENGALURU – Nicholas Pooran smashed the fastest fifty of the IPL season in 15 balls as Lucknow Super Giants pulled off a stunning chase of 213 to edge out Royal Challengers Bangalore in a last-ball thriller on Monday.

West Indies’ Pooran smashed 62 off 19 balls before he departed but Lucknow crept over the line to win by one wicket in a dramatic final over in Bengaluru.

Lucknow needed five off the last six balls after Ayush Badoni was out hit-wicket for 30 in the penultimate over, hitting his stumps while hammering what would have been a six.

Mark Wood and Jaydev Unadkat were dismissed in the final over and Ravi Bishnoi was nearly ‘mankaded’ from the last ball.

With the scores level and a super over beckoning, number 11 Avesh Khan scampered a bye and threw his helmet in celebration.

Australia’s Marcus Stoinis had earlier clobbered a 30-ball 65, but it was Pooran’s blitz including seven sixes that blew away RCB.

Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell notched up 15 sixes between them in Bangalore’s 212-2, with 27 hit in the match in total.

Bangalore struck with three early wickets before Stoinis dominated a fourth-wicket stand of 76 with skipper KL Rahul.

Impact player Karn Sharma broke the partnership as he sent back Stoinis but Bangalore had a new nemesis in Pooran.

The efforts of Pooran and Stoinis eclipsed the power-hitting from Kohli (61), Du Plessis (79 not out) and Maxwell (59) after Bangalore were put in to bat first.

Kohli set the tone for Bangalore’s big total with his second fifty of the season in a 96-run opening stand with Du Plessis.

Maxwell kept up the charge after Kohli’s departure and Du Plessis delivered a flurry of sixes, including a hit of 115 metres, as he also registered his second half-century of the campaign.