The match between Mumbai Indians and Lucknow Super Giants turned into a low-scoring thriller despite the latter at one point chasing a 145-run target set by the former. A flurry of wickets in the middle overs meant LSG were 132/5 in 18 overs. Things got even more interesting when Ayush Badoni was bowled out on the first ball of the 19th over. However, it was not a clean run-out and the decision to give the batsman a run-out was labeled 'terrible, strangest, poor' by fans and pundits.
It all happened when Ayush Badoni tried to make a second run off Hardik Pandya's first ball. MI wicketkeeper Ishan Ishan Kishan first missed a chance to hit the stumps but then did it in the second attempt. Badoni's dive was expansive, but whether his bat popped up when he reached the crease was not clear. The third referee ruled it out. Irfan Pathan criticized the decision.
What a terrible decision by the third run out referee.
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) April 30, 2024
How is this distributed? #LSGvsMI #Referee pic.twitter.com/57VUTMBSNe
– Vaibhav Parashar? (@vaibhav_seven) April 30, 2024
Wow, wow, wow…could be one of the weirdest decisions the third referee has ever made. Can determine the course of the match.#LSGvsMI pic.twitter.com/qMdvyCCBL8
— Utsav Anand (@utsavanand641) April 30, 2024
Wow, wow, wow…could be one of the weirdest decisions the third referee has ever made. Can determine the course of the match.#LSGvsMI pic.twitter.com/qMdvyCCBL8
— Utsav Anand (@utsavanand641) April 30, 2024
After restricting Mumbai Indians to a paltry 144, Lucknow Super Giants huffed and puffed to victory in a rather dull match of the IPL 2024 so far.
Marcus Stoinis was the star of the day as his all-round performance of 62 with the bat and 1 for 19 with the ball helped LSG register a crucial four-wicket win over MI at the Ekana Cricket Stadium here on Tuesday.
Chasing an under-par score of 145 at the slow wicket, Nuwan Alsohara scored an early strike and dismissed Arshin Kulkarni for the golden duck. KL Rahul dropped the anchor role as he was 5 for 13 after three overs and had already lined up to stay there till the end, handing over the responsibility of making a play to the other batters.
Dushara and Gerald Coetzee had given KL Rahul two freebies down the leg side and he could not connect with either of them. But Coetzee was smoked for 15 runs in the second innings, thanks to back-to-back boundaries from Stoinis.
LSG lost skipper Rahul on 28 to a beautiful catch from Mohammad Nabi off Hardik Pandya, pulling Mumbai back into the match as both added 58 off 40 deliveries for the second wicket.
Stoinis looked good and Deepak Hooda was decent in the four balls he faced. It was a tough task for MI as they needed a few wickets to turn around on a wicket that was looking slightly slow.
Stoinis was impressive with another fifty, but LSG limped towards the end and took control of the match until the last. Nicholas Pooran's experience came in handy as the home side crossed the finish line with 4 balls to spare.
LSG climbed to the third spot in the IPL 2024 points table, leapfrogging CSK, while MI are ninth in the points table with just 3 wins in 10 matches.
WITH IANS inputs