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Gautam Gambhir, famous for his success at the Eden Gardens and against the Kolkata crowd, experienced a unique role on Saturday. Earlier, after leading Kolkata Knight Riders to two IPL titles during his seven seasons with the franchise, Gambhir returned to the prestigious ground as a mentor for Lucknow Super Giants. Despite facing wild “Virat Kohli” chants from the crowd during the second innings, Gambhir and his team won a thrilling encounter, securing their place in the playoffs.
Lucknow Super Giants were faced with a daunting task after Chennai Super Kings’ stupendous win against Delhi Capitals earlier in the day. They not only needed to win, but do so by a wide enough margin to seal a top two finish and a place in the playoffs. However, their top-order faltered early on, putting their chances in jeopardy. It was Nicholas Pooran’s fiery half-century that ultimately saved the day, helping them post 176 for eight.
A breathtaking end to a sensational encounter! ,@LucknowIPL Won by just 1 run after Rinku Singh’s brilliant innings.
scorecard __ #TATAIPL , #kkrvlsg pic.twitter.com/umJAhcMzSQ– Indian Premier League (@IPL) May 20, 2023
Kolkata Knight Riders, who still had their hopes of making the playoffs alive, got off to a strong start with Jason Roy and Venkatesh Iyer sharing a solid 61-run partnership. During this period, the Eden Gardens crowd taunted Gambhir and Naveen-ul-Haq with “Kohli” chants. However, as soon as both the openers were dismissed, the spinners of Lucknow tightened the screws, due to which the middle order of Kolkata collapsed.
Ravi Bishnoi, Krishnappa Gautam, Krunal Pandya, Yash Thakur and Naveen were impressive with the ball. But the highlight of the match was Rinku Singh, who almost single-handedly led Kolkata to victory. With 40 runs needed from the last two overs, Singh came very close to winning by dismissing the Afghan in quick succession for 20, but fell short by just one run.
The raucous celebration that followed LSG’s thrilling win reflected Gambhir’s happiness. He repeatedly banged the table and hugged one of his teammates, not smiling throughout the act. Despite their win, Lucknow Super Giants failed to surpass Chennai Super Kings in terms of net run rate, which means CSK will face Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 1 of IPL 2023. Eliminator Round.
