Mitchell Marsh called the Indian Premier League (IPL) the “best competition in the world” after his match-winning century helped Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) deal a major blow to Gujarat Titans (GT) in a thrilling contest at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.
Despite being eliminated from playoff contention, LSG played party poopers by defeating GT by 33 runs, defending a daunting total of 235/2. Marsh led the charge with a blazing 117 off 64 balls, while Nicholas Pooran chipped in with a vital unbeaten 56 off 25 to stun the home crowd.
Speaking after receiving the Player of the Match award, Marsh said:
“It’s been very disappointing. We lost close games, and we are out of the race. The IPL is a beast of a competition. Any team can beat any team in this competition on a given day; that’s why this is the best competition in the world.”
The Australian all-rounder, who made his IPL debut back in 2010 with the Deccan Chargers, finally reached the three-figure mark in the league after more than a decade of waiting.
“I have had a few years off in between as well… It’s been a while. Getting an opportunity to open the batting has been key. The partnership with Aiden [Markram] on and off the field has been amazing.”
Marsh credited the comeback to solid partnerships after a cautious start:
“They [GT] bowled really well in the powerplay. If you are 12 off 12 in the powerplay, it’s panic stations, but once we got a few good partnerships, it made things easy for us.”
GT’s chase got off to a steady start but fell apart after losing their star trio of Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill, and Jos Buttler. The defeat leaves Gujarat vulnerable, with RCB, Punjab Kings, and Mumbai Indians still having a chance to overtake them at the top of the table, depending on the results of their final group-stage matches.
Though LSG is now sixth on the points table with 12 points (6 wins, 7 losses), Marsh’s late-season fireworks gave fans a glimpse of what might have been in a campaign riddled with narrow defeats and missed opportunities.