‘Thodi der ke liye wahan dil muh me tha’ – Fans react as LSG defeat KKR by 1 run, get qualified for playoffs in IPL 2023

The 68th match of the Indian Premier League 2023 was played between the two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Saturday, May 20. LSG defeated KKR by 1 run and has now officially qualified for the playoffs.

KKR opted to bowl first after winning the toss. Despite losing Karan Sharma in the 3rd over, LSG had an excellent powerplay but the fall off Prerak Mankad and Marcus Stoinis in the space of three balls hurt them in terms of gaining any momentum. As if that wasn’t enough damaging, both Krunal Pandya and Quinton de Kock fell in the space of three balls a couple of overs later, which forced the visitors to play with a hint of caution. 

West Indies star wicketkeeper-batter Nicholas Pooran, however, came with positive intent and started off on a brisk note. He attacked Varun Chakravarthy but offered a lot of respect to his West Indian teammate Sunil Narine, who ended up with figures of 2/28. Ayush Badoni played the second fiddle, and thanks to some massive hits in the slog overs, LSG managed to squeeze 54 off the last 4.

Brilliant death bowling by LSG

Chasing the target, KKR had a cracking start as opener Jason Roy and Venkatesh Iyer stitched a 61-run stand for the 1st wicket in the powerplay. However, Iyer’s departure on the 5th ball of the 6th over brought the downfall for the KKR’s batting lineup as they started losing back-to-back wickets. Roy kept one end safe for a while and also smashed a half-century, but skipper Pandya brought the much-needed breakthrough as he dismissed Roy in the 10th over.

KKR’s middle-order batters once again disappointed the fans, as no one except Rinku Singh could provide anything special for the team. LSG bowlers made a brilliant comeback in the match and snatched the win for KKR’s hand.

Here’s how fans reacted:

Poor bowlers can’t even stop 4 sixes in 6 balls

— Lenson (@lensond) May 20, 2023

Wait wait Milenge Playoffs me

— Akash Kumar sahu (@_imAkash18_) May 20, 2023

Best finisher India has ever produced in t20s Rinkuuuu

— nuktacheeni (@o_sanamm) May 20, 2023

https://twitter.com/raj4567812/status/1659982568215937025?s=20

Rinku Singh, bhai BCCI per pressure dalo is bande ko World Cup me chaheye kaise bhi kar ke

— Shri Dev Tiwari (@shridev94) May 20, 2023

https://twitter.com/AMANAVIN/status/1659983116801540096?s=20

Dream for chokli nd haaarccbbbb

— Arpit (@arpit_P07) May 20, 2023

Aaj Naveen Ul Haq ko bahut saare mangoes khilayega @GautamGambhir

— Vek D Best (@vek1989) May 20, 2023

https://twitter.com/Sarcasticpunekr/status/1659982962350505984?s=20

https://twitter.com/samratsp3/status/1659982690077265920?s=20