175/4 (18.4)
CR : 9.38
173/5 (20.0)
CR : 8.65
Los Angeles Knight Riders won by 6 wickets 🏆
Player of the Match
Rovman Powell
73(27)
LAKR won by 6 wickets
10:29 AM IST, 9:59 PM Local Time: Los Angeles Knight Riders win by 6 wickets! Phew! What run chase did we just see. On a wicket that troubled most batters to find their timing, Rovman Powell completely feasted and notched up one of the better knocks off his career. That was a much-needed win for the Knight Riders, and they manage to hang on to the qualification race.
LAKR won the toss and elected to bowl first. They started off well by dismissing Faf du Plessis and Rilee Rossouw early inside the powerplay to reduce the Super Kings to 34/2. However, Saiteja Mukkamalla stayed solid and stitched valuable partnerships with Shubham Ranjane and Wiaan Mulder. With Ranjane he added 60 off 55 before Ranjane was dismissed for 28. With Mulder he added 50 off 25 before himself getting dismissed for cracking 80 off 55. The pair pushed the score past 150 before Mulder and Dian Forrester played small cameos to push the score to 173/5 at the end of 20 overs. The pick of the bowlers were Sunil Narine (2/22) and Jason Holder (2/48).
The chase was never going to be easy as the pitch has a lot of tricks inside it. In fact, it did not start on the best note for the Knight Riders. Andre Fletcher (6), Unmukt Chand (18) and Matthew Tromp (11) struggled to get going and made matters difficult for their side. Colin Munro from the other end picked up boundaries on a regular basis and kept his side in the hunt. However, he needed some support, and it finally came in the form of Rovman Powell. Once that duo came together on the wicket, the odds flipped. At one point, it was 99 to win off 48 with the Super Kings being favourites to defend it.
This pair had different ideas, and it felt like the pitch had changed. They fought fire with fire and Powell was the aggressor. He smoked maximums to all parts of the ground with pure disdain and brutality. He picked up 22 and 26 runs off a couple of overs in that span and killed the chase completely. That freed up Munro who too flexed his muscles and got the ball over the ropes a few times.
They added 107 runs off just 41 balls before Powell was cleaned up for a fiery 73 off 27. Eventually the Knight Riders got over the line with 8 balls to spare. Munro finished with 55 off 42 next to his name. The pick of the bowlers were Dian Forrester (1/19) and Donovan Ferreira (1/18). Amshi de Silva and Adam Milne picked up a wicket too but it proved to be ineffective at the end of the day.
LAKR won the toss and elected to bowl first. They started off well by dismissing Faf du Plessis and Rilee Rossouw early inside the powerplay to reduce the Super Kings to 34/2. However, Saiteja Mukkamalla stayed solid and stitched valuable partnerships with Shubham Ranjane and Wiaan Mulder. With Ranjane he added 60 off 55 before Ranjane was dismissed for 28. With Mulder he added 50 off 25 before himself getting dismissed for cracking 80 off 55. The pair pushed the score past 150 before Mulder and Dian Forrester played small cameos to push the score to 173/5 at the end of 20 overs. The pick of the bowlers were Sunil Narine (2/22) and Jason Holder (2/48).
The chase was never going to be easy as the pitch has a lot of tricks inside it. In fact, it did not start on the best note for the Knight Riders. Andre Fletcher (6), Unmukt Chand (18) and Matthew Tromp (11) struggled to get going and made matters difficult for their side. Colin Munro from the other end picked up boundaries on a regular basis and kept his side in the hunt. However, he needed some support, and it finally came in the form of Rovman Powell. Once that duo came together on the wicket, the odds flipped. At one point, it was 99 to win off 48 with the Super Kings being favourites to defend it.
This pair had different ideas, and it felt like the pitch had changed. They fought fire with fire and Powell was the aggressor. He smoked maximums to all parts of the ground with pure disdain and brutality. He picked up 22 and 26 runs off a couple of overs in that span and killed the chase completely. That freed up Munro who too flexed his muscles and got the ball over the ropes a few times.
They added 107 runs off just 41 balls before Powell was cleaned up for a fiery 73 off 27. Eventually the Knight Riders got over the line with 8 balls to spare. Munro finished with 55 off 42 next to his name. The pick of the bowlers were Dian Forrester (1/19) and Donovan Ferreira (1/18). Amshi de Silva and Adam Milne picked up a wicket too but it proved to be ineffective at the end of the day.
Faf du Plessis (Texas Super Kings Captain): "[On TSK's total] Looking at the half-way mark, thought it was a really good score. The guys hung in and then finished well. In an innings like that, you don't want to give chances.
[Rovman Powell's knock] He has obviously played well. The brute hitting, the way he was hitting put pressure on the bowlers. The bowlers then move away from the right lengths. That is always the cat and mouse game between bat and ball, thought he played very well."
[Rovman Powell's knock] He has obviously played well. The brute hitting, the way he was hitting put pressure on the bowlers. The bowlers then move away from the right lengths. That is always the cat and mouse game between bat and ball, thought he played very well."
Time for the post-match presentations...
Power Hitter of the Day: Rovman Powell
Play of the Day: Jahmar Hamilton
Player of the Match: Rovman Powell
Rovman Powell (POTM): "[On the pitch tonight] Yeah, at the halfway stage I told the guys that it is a better wicket. We played on another wicket the other night and struggled as batters. However, it was a better wicket today. It was a wicket you can trust your stroke play on. Things came together nicely. We were in a little bit of trouble. It is good for the experienced guys like me and Colin Munro to get the team over the line.
[On his six-hitting ability] It is all about clarity. I was very clear with what I wanted to do. There was bigger side. So, I knew that they would force me to hit the ball onto that side. I made an effort to tell myself that if I hit the ball good towards the bigger side, it is still six. Yeah, so I was not 50-50, I was a 100% clear with what I wanted to do.
[Importance of the win] It is massive. The people of LA came out and supported us. I hope they come tomorrow as well and support us, and we can put on a show for them again. It is fantastic. If you look at the points table, this win is massive. We were down at the bottom of the table with 3 defeats in a row. The dressing room morale gets a bit damaged. However, tonight the guys shall feel confident knowing that we can win from any position."
[On his six-hitting ability] It is all about clarity. I was very clear with what I wanted to do. There was bigger side. So, I knew that they would force me to hit the ball onto that side. I made an effort to tell myself that if I hit the ball good towards the bigger side, it is still six. Yeah, so I was not 50-50, I was a 100% clear with what I wanted to do.
[Importance of the win] It is massive. The people of LA came out and supported us. I hope they come tomorrow as well and support us, and we can put on a show for them again. It is fantastic. If you look at the points table, this win is massive. We were down at the bottom of the table with 3 defeats in a row. The dressing room morale gets a bit damaged. However, tonight the guys shall feel confident knowing that we can win from any position."
Jason Holder (Los Angeles Knight Riders Captain): "[On the comeback] Yeah, credit to the boys. We played a really good game of cricket. We got over the line. Yesterday, I told to the boys that we need that brilliance from one person and Rovman (Powell) produced it, (Colin) Munro supported and we did great as a team in the field as well. We want to work as hard as possible and there is some room for improvement.
[Spells from Sunil Narine and Shadley van Schalkwyk] Yeah, two good spells from two good bowlers. Credit to Shadlo (Shadley van Schalkwyk), he did the job for me. He didn't get the wickets he wanted but contained the runs. His role was important as he let the other bowlers express themselves. Tried to get some wickets at the end because we felt some pressure. Credit to the bowlers for holding the nerve and credit to the batters while chasing it.
[On Munro and Rovman's knocks] You said it, two great innings from two great guys. Munners is a great man, you can't keep him out for long. He keeps coming back. His attitude is amazing and he is one of our leaders. His knock was key for Rovman to bat freely. Then, Rovman showed the power he has. He was very calm and timed the chase perfectly and targeted the bowlers superbly."
[Spells from Sunil Narine and Shadley van Schalkwyk] Yeah, two good spells from two good bowlers. Credit to Shadlo (Shadley van Schalkwyk), he did the job for me. He didn't get the wickets he wanted but contained the runs. His role was important as he let the other bowlers express themselves. Tried to get some wickets at the end because we felt some pressure. Credit to the bowlers for holding the nerve and credit to the batters while chasing it.
[On Munro and Rovman's knocks] You said it, two great innings from two great guys. Munners is a great man, you can't keep him out for long. He keeps coming back. His attitude is amazing and he is one of our leaders. His knock was key for Rovman to bat freely. Then, Rovman showed the power he has. He was very calm and timed the chase perfectly and targeted the bowlers superbly."
Another fantastic day of cricket comes to an end at Pomona. This pitch is certainly challenging the batters, but if you are Rovman Powell and find a way to fight the demons, you can win your side a game.
On this note, I, Manan Mehta would like to sign off on behalf of my colleagues Karthik Raj, Deepak Prakash, AkshayaKrishna Polya and Bishal Mandal. B-byeeee!!!
On this note, I, Manan Mehta would like to sign off on behalf of my colleagues Karthik Raj, Deepak Prakash, AkshayaKrishna Polya and Bishal Mandal. B-byeeee!!!