IPL 2023: Lucknow Super Giants make second-highest IPL total in Punjab Kings win

Lucknow Super Giants made the second-highest total in Indian Premier League history as they thrashed Punjab Kings by 56 runs in Mohali.

They posted 257-5 with Australia’s Marcus Stoinis making 72 off 40 balls and West Indies’ Kyle Mayers 54 off 24.

It left them six short of the 263-5 made by Royal Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors in 2013.

Punjab were bowled out for 201 off the penultimate ball, with Yash Tahkur claiming 4-37.

It is only the second time a team has passed 250 in the IPL and is the 20th highest score in T20 history.

“It was really important to win,” said Lucknow captain KL Rahul.

“We’ve always been clear about how we want to play. It is just more difficult at home because it is challenging there.

“Kyle set the tone for us and we took it from there. We do pre-plan a bit and think a lot about what tactics we can use.”

Lucknow accelerated from the start of their innings and raced to 74-2 in the six-over powerplay.

Even after Mayers’ dismissal off the penultimate ball of that period, Stoinis and Ayush Badoni carried on attacking, ultimately sharing 89 off 47 balls.

Stoinis, whose 72 was his highest score in the IPL, should have been dismissed on 38 but England all-rounder Liam Livingstone inadvertently stood on the boundary while attempting to take the catch.

The all-rounder also put on 76 in 30 balls with West Indies’ Nicholas Pooran, who smashed a 19-ball 45.

They went into the final two overs needing 28 to equal the record but England’s Sam Curran only conceded 10, before Arshdeep Singh went for 12.

Despite falling short, it was a devastating display of power hitting, with 41 boundaries hit in the innings.

Punjab lost captain Shikhar Dhawan in the first over and that immediately put them on the back foot, with the left-hander – the second-highest scorer in IPL history – a crucial cog in their batting line-up.

Atharva Taide and Sikandar Raza put on 78 for the third wicket but Punjab lost regular wickets as they looked to keep up with a rising required run rate.

Livingstone, who took 1-19 with the ball, made 23 off 13 balls, while Curran added 21 off 11 having conceded 1-38 off three overs.

The match aggregate runs of 458 is the third-highest in IPL history and there has now been 20 scores of 200-plus in the 2023 IPL, beating last season’s total of 18.