Four of the six bowlers that KKR used went at over 12 an over

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Apr-20252:01

What has worked for Mitchell Marsh this season?

Mitchell Marsh’s fourth fifty of IPL 2025 and Nicholas Pooran’s 36-ball 87 took Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) to 238, their second-highest total in the league. Marsh and Pooran launched from the base Aiden Markram had set for LSG with his 28-ball 47. Four of the six bowlers that KKR used went at over 12 an over.Marsh and Markram put on 99, the highest opening partnership in this season so far. They added 59 off the first six with 46 coming off three overs from one end and 13 off the other. The duo took left-arm quick Spencer Johnson for three fours and two sixes, most of them through the leg side, which had the shorter boundary.Narine’s introduction after the powerplay didn’t stop the openers from attacking. Marsh first swept a length ball off the stumps and then rocked back to punish a short, wide ball over cover. A similar shot yielded another boundary in Narine’s following over. Varun Chakravarthy bowled a cheap over in between and decided to bowl around the wicket.After KKR went back to their pacers, Harshit Rana removed Markram with a sharp offcutter. LSG, though, whacked six fours and a six in the following three overs. Varun’s final over went for two sixes, the first a slash from Pooran over the short boundary at cover and then a straight hit from Marsh. Angkrish Raghuvanshi replaced Varun as the Impact Player at the end of the 14th over, with LSG on 154 for 1.Pooran’s six-hitting then took centerstage as he whacked two off Narine and one off Russell. Two more off Harshit brought up a 21-ball fifty.Though Russell had Marsh hole out, Pooran kept going. With the platform set, LSG promoted finishers Abdul Samad and David Miller above captain Rishabh Pant. Russell bowled the 18th of the over to Pooran and conceded 24, the most expensive of the innings. Pooran picked Vaibhav Arora away for a four in the final over and remained unbeaten.