BENGALURU, India: Mayank Yadav’s express pace led Lucknow Super Giants to a 28-run win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Indian Premier League on Tuesday.
The 21-year-old Yadav, who clocked 156.7 kph, grabbed 3-14 as Bengaluru crashed to 153 all out in 19.4 overs for its third loss in four games.
Earlier, Bengaluru let Lucknow score a formidable 181-5, dropping both main run-scorers Quinton de Kock (81) and Nicholas Pooran (40). De Kock was in the 30s when Glenn Maxwell dropped the South African. Pooran went on to smash five sixes in the last two overs after getting reprieve when he had scored just 2.
Yadav made an impressive IPL debut in Lucknow’s previous win over Punjab Kings when the right-arm fast bowler picked up 3-27. He continued to trouble batters with his short balls to bag his second straight player of the match award after Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli had provided a rollicking start of 40 off 26 balls.
Kohli made 22 off 16 balls before he spliced a catch at backward point as he attempted a big shot against impact substitute spinner Manimaran Siddharth. Du Plessis was then run-out while going for a tight single against Yadav’s first ball in the power play before the express bowler broke through Bengaluru’s middle-order.
Both Maxwell and Cameron Green were undone by the pace of Yadav and went cheaply as Bengaluru slipped to 58-4 in the eighth over. Yadav came close to a four-wicket haul, but Dinesh Karthik took a successful review against leg before decision as the replays suggested the ball would have missed the stumps.
Bengaluru’s impact substitute Mahipal Lomror made a quickfire 33 off 13 balls, but Lucknow always looked in control as Afghanistan fast bowler Naveen-ul-Haq finished off with 2-25.
Earlier, de Kock capitalized on Maxwell’s dropped catch and smashed eight fours and five sixes in his 56-ball knock. Maxwell tried to reduce the damage through his offspin with a controlled 2-23 spell in the middle overs, but de Kock did enough damage before holing out in the deep in the death overs off Reece Topley’s low full toss.
Pooran was dropped by Anuj Rawat but hit three straight sixes to Topley in the penultimate over before providing the perfect finish with another two big hits against Mohammed Siraj in the final over.
Bengaluru falls to young Yadav’s pace as Lucknow records 28-run win in IPL
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Bengaluru falls to young Yadav’s pace as Lucknow records 28-run win in IPL
- 21-year-old Mayank Yadav, who clocked 156.7 kph, grabbed 3-14 as Bengaluru crashed to 153 all out in 19.4 overs for its third loss in four games
- Bengaluru let Lucknow score a formidable 181-5, dropping both main run-scorers Quinton de Kock (81) and Nicholas Pooran (40)
Pakistan face arch-rivals India today in blockbuster T20 World Cup clash in Colombo
- Cricket contest takes place amid surging political tensions between India and Pakistan after their May 2025 clash
- Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav says team will decide whether or not to shake hands with Pakistani cricketers
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan take on defending champions and arch-rivals India today, Sunday, in Colombo in a highly anticipated T20 World Cup 2026 clash between the two sides.
The Group A fixture between the two sides will not just be important for the on-field cricket action but also because of the political tensions between the neighbors. India and Pakistan engaged in a brief military confrontation in May 2025 which came to a halt after Washington brokered a ceasefire.
However, political tensions spilled over onto the cricket field when Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav opted out of shaking hands with his Pakistani counterpart before the toss at their Asia Cup encounter last year in September. The Indian team refused to shake hands with their Pakistani counterparts in all three matches of the tournament, triggering a strong protest from Pakistan.
Tensions surged again after Pakistan’s government announced earlier this month it would not allow its team to play against India in the World Cup in solidarity with Bangladesh. The South Asian country was replaced with Scotland after it refused to play its matches in India due to security reasons. Pakistan criticized the move and announced boycotting the Feb. 15 match against India. However, Islamabad later took back its decision to boycott the match after negotiations with the International Cricket Council.
“The game should be played in real spirit, the way it has been played since it started,” Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha said at the pre-match press conference on Saturday. “The rest is up to them (India), what they want to do.”
Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav did not commit whether his team will shake hands with Pakistan or not on Sunday.
“Why are you highlighting that?” Yadav asked reporters. “We are here to play cricket. We will play good cricket. We will take all those calls tomorrow. We will see tomorrow.”
Political and military tensions have meant the two teams have not played a bilateral series for years.
India has not traveled to Pakistan since 2008 and Pakistan visited India for the 50-over World Cup in 2023 but has since played ICC tournaments at neutral venues.
India has defeated Pakistan 12 times in the 16 T20 games they have played. They also have an impressive 6-1 record in the eight T20 World Cup matches since the first edition in 2007, with one being tied.
“We don’t have a good record against them in World Cups,” Agha admitted. “But whenever you come to play a new match, it’s a new day and you have to play good cricket to win.
“You can’t change history. You can learn from it. We learned from it and we’ll try to do a good performance tomorrow and win the match.”
Both sides have won their two fixtures so far, with India beating the USA and Namibia while Pakistan have defeated the Netherlands and the USA as well.
The top two teams from each group will qualify for the Super Eight stage of the World Cup.
The match is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. Pakistan Standard Time.
