Pooran, Marsh fire as LSG scrape past KKR in IPL shootout

Lucknow Super Giants defeated Kolkata Knight Riders in a tense, high-scoring IPL clash at Eden Gardens on Tuesday, winning by four runs after posting 3/238 batting first.

Aiden Markram (47 from 28) and Mitchell Marsh (81 from 48) treated fans to an onslaught of attacking cricket from the get-go, racing out to 0/99 at the midway point of the innings.

When Markram fell, Nicholas Pooran (87 from 36) only served to up the ante, plundering runs at a strike rate of better than 240 throughout the second half of LSG’s effort.

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A total as high as 250 looked to be on the cards when Lucknow entered the final two overs sitting on 2/217, but some of KKR’s better bowling came at the death to limit the visitors to 238.

In response, Kolkata blazed their way to 0/37 off the first 14 balls of their innings, setting the tone for what would be a thrilling chase.

After Quinton de Kock (15 from 9) fell, Ajinkya Rahane (61 from 35) played a captain’s knock alongside Sunil Narine (30 from 13) to push them to 1/91 after just 6.1 overs.

When Venkatesh Iyer (45 from 29) came to the party after Narine exited, the hosts seemed to be in the box seat to defy cricket betting odds and secure back-to-back wins.

Wickets were their downfall, however, with no KKR batsman surpassing Rahane’s 61 runs as a glut of middle-order wickets took them from 2/162 to 7/185 in the space of three and a half overs.

Rinku Singh (38 from 15) did his best to will Kolkata over the line, but it was too little, too late.

“No complaints, in the end we fought hard but [fell] just four runs short,” Rahane said afterwards.

“See, when you’re chasing 230-plus you are bound to lose wickets — that’s completely normal.

“The intent and how everyone played was amazing.

“If batters took a little bit of time, it was a great wicket to bat on.”

Despite the batting extravaganza, IPL bookmakers are not high on either side’s chances of winning the tournament this year.

BlondeBet has LSG on the fifth line of betting at $9 to win the 2025 IPL title, while KKR are paying $19 having won just two matches this season.

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