‘Muqaddar ka Sikandar’ – Fans react as Sikandar Raza guides Punjab Kings to victory against Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2023

After defeating Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the last-ball thriller by one wicket at the M. Chinnaswammy Stadium, in Bangalore, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) locked horns against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the  Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, in Lucknow on Saturday, April 15. Kings won the match by two wickets and Sikandar Raza was given the Player of the Match award for his brilliant all-round performance.

PBKS skipper, Sam Curran won the toss and elected to ball first. The home team, batting first, scored 159 runs with the loss of eight wickets after the completion of the first innings. The highest scorer for the team was their skipper KL Rahul, who scored 74 runs from 56 balls, which included eight fours and a six. Kyle Mayers scored 29 runs off 23 balls, which included three sixes and a four in his innings. In the end, Marcus Stoinis scored 15 runs off 11 balls, which included two sixes in his innings.

Punjab Kings won in the last over

For the Punjab side, the pick of the bowler was Sam Curran, who snapped three wickets in his spell of four overs where he conceded 3 runs in his spell. Two wickets were grabbed by a South African pacer, Kagiso Rabada, who conceded 34 runs from his spell of four overs. One wicket each was bagged by Arshdeep Singh and Sikandar Raza.

PBKS chased down the target on the third ball of the 20th over. The highest scorer for the side was Raza, who scored 57 runs from 41 balls, which included four fours and three sixes in his innings. Australian opener, Matthew Short also played a crucial knock of 34 runs from 22 balls with five fours and a six. In the end, the all-rounder from Tamil Nadu, Shahrukh Khan played an unbeaten knock of 23 runs from just 10 balls which included two sixes and a four in his innings.

“Feels great to be honest. When I got out, there were a few demons in my head. Credit to Shahrukh. Nice to get a fifty but if we had lost, I wouldn’t have felt so good. It’s one of the biggest stage. You’re here and you want to do well. I’ve had two average games which was there in my head. Jitesh’s wicket was very crucial. Had he stayed on for 6-8 balls, he would’ve finished the game himself. But the way Shahrukh came out hitting his first ball for six, I was confident in him,” Raza was quoted as saying in the post-match presentation.

Here’s how fans reacted to a Punjab Kings victory:

https://twitter.com/SharmaRahul1988/status/1647299150147637248

Klol captaincy

— Nirupam (@Nirupamhello) April 15, 2023

https://twitter.com/SharmaRahul1988/status/1647299269077127169

https://twitter.com/Tanuj62149736/status/1647300441359941635

https://twitter.com/mrityu_47/status/1647299060477607937

https://twitter.com/Nillionaire0/status/1647298934367457280

IPL script-writers since the last few matches:pic.twitter.com/BzXsS681Zz

— Ana de Armas stan (@abhithecomic) April 15, 2023

https://twitter.com/SharmaRahul1988/status/1647299074457219072

https://twitter.com/Ayush90638218/status/1647299054794309632

https://twitter.com/utsav045/status/1647298748798881792