Nicholas Pooran acknowledges Woods’ mark on game

Bengaluru, April 11

Lucknow Super Giants’ middle-order batter Nicholas Pooran has credited his team’s thrilling last-ball win over Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL to a brilliant last over bowled by pacer Mark Wood, which restricted the home team to 212.

Wood gave away only 9 runs off the final over and also took the important wicket of a rampaging Glenn Maxwell. In the context of the game, that was a praiseworthy effort.

Lucknow, despite losing three wickets in the Powerplay with just 23 runs on the board, managed to win the game by one wicket on Monday night, with the West Indian scoring a 19-ball 62 and blasting the fastest half-century of the season off just 15 deliveries.

“Obviously, I thought it was a really good cricket pitch. Mark Wood bowled an excellent last over and kept us in the game. Tonight wasn’t a surprise to me,” said Pooran, while conceding that a target of around 220 would have put his side psychologically under pressure. “I think, psychologically, chasing 220-odd would have put additional pressure on us, but 213 we felt like the momentum was on our side, It was just that we needed to get that start,” he added. — PTI

Faf fined Rs 12 lakh

Bengaluru: Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Faf du Plessis was fined Rs 12 lakh after his team was found guilty of maintaining slow over-rate during its IPL match against Lucknow Super Giants. LSG won the match by one wicket off the last ball and their No. 11 batter Avesh Khan, in excitement, flung his helmet after the completion of the winning runs, which also invited a reprimand from the match referee.