Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], April 8 : Fans at Eden Gardens were treated to a batting masterclass on Tuesday as the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) posted a mammoth 238/3 against defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in their IPL 2025 clash. Explosive half-centuries from Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram, and Nicholas Pooran powered LSG to one of the highest totals of the season.
After being put to bat by KKR, LSG’s opening duo of Marsh and Markram went on the offensive early. They smashed 59 runs in the powerplay, targeting KKR’s pace attack, particularly Spencer Johnson and Harshit Rana. The 99-run stand came to an end in the 11th over when Harshit dismissed Markram for a well-made 47 off 28 balls, studded with four boundaries and two sixes.
Mitchell Marsh was relentless, notching up his fourth fifty of the season in just 36 balls and going on to score a brilliant 81 off 48 balls, including six fours and five maximums. He eventually fell to Andre Russell, but not before adding 70 runs in just 30 balls alongside Nicholas Pooran.
Pooran turned up the heat during the death overs. He reached his fifty in just 21 balls and ended unbeaten on a blistering 87 off 36 balls, hammering seven fours and eight sixes. His dominance over spin and brutal hitting at the death, especially against Russell, lifted LSG to a staggering 238.
David Miller stayed not out on 4, while Abdul Samad managed just 6 before falling to Harshit Rana. The only bright spot for KKR’s bowling was Rana, who picked up two wickets despite conceding 51 runs. The rest of the KKR bowling unit struggled to contain the carnage. Narine and Varun Chakravarthy went wicketless, leaking 69 runs between them in seven overs.
LSG now looks to defend 239 to secure their third win of the tournament, riding high on a near-flawless batting performance.