LUCKNOW: Opener Aiden Markram and Nicholas Pooran struck half-centuries as Lucknow Super Giants beat Gujarat Titans by six wickets for their third straight win in the IPL on Saturday.
Chasing 181 for victory on a sluggish pitch, Markram shared partnerships of 65 with fellow-opener Rishabh Pant and 58 with the left-handed Pooran as Lucknow achieved the target with three balls to spare at their home in Ekana Stadium.
Markram hit 58 and Pooran smashed 61 to end Gujarat’s winning streak of four matches in this edition of the T20 tournament.
Gujarat dropped a place down from the top of the 10-team table with Lucknow behind in third with four wins from six matches.
West Indies’ Pooran struck his fourth half-ton to go past Gujarat opener Sai Sudharsan as the leading batter with 349 runs; Sudharsan has 329.
South Africa’s Markram set the platform for the chase as he stepped up in the absence of his in-form opening partner Mitchell Marsh, who missed the match due to the illness of his daughter.
Skipper Pant opened the batting with Markram but failed to strike form despite an early reprieve when Gujarat wicketkeeper Jos Buttler dropped a catch down the leg side.
The left-handed Pant hit four boundaries before he lofted fast bowler Prasidh Krishna to deep third man, falling for 21 from 18 balls.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Pant is still waiting to justify his record auction price of $3.21 million as he has only managed 40 runs in five innings.
Markram stood strong to raise his second fifty at the venue and hit back with Pooran as the two smashed regular boundaries.
Krishna dismissed Markram but there was no stopping Pooran who hammered his fifty in 23 balls.
Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan finally sent back Pooran caught at long-on but the batter had done the damage with one four and seven sixes in his 34-ball knock.
Spinner Washington Sundar bowled David Miller for seven to keep Gujarat in the hunt for a miracle when they went into the final over needing to defend six.
Impact substitute Ayush Badoni hit an unbeaten 28 and sealed the win with a four and six.
The Lucknow bowlers set up victory when they restricted Gujarat to 180-6 after the hosts elected to field first.
Sudharsan, who made 56, and skipper Shubman Gill, who hit 60, put on 120 runs for the opening wicket but the rest of the batting faltered.
Gujarat lost wickets regularly and lost their way against a disciplined Lucknow attack.
Medium-pacer Shardul Thakur and leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi took two wickets each as they choked Gujarat in the middle overs.
Markram, Pooran lead Lucknow Super Giants to IPL win over Gujarat Titans
Markram, Pooran lead Lucknow Super Giants to IPL win over Gujarat Titans
Ancestral Land heads King Khalid University Cup
- Progressive sprinter will be among field of 20 on Saturday at King Abdulaziz Racecourse
RIYADH: Ancestral Land (GB) was a sprinting success story last season and reemerges for a new campaign by heading a full-field of 20 runners in Saturday’s $40,000 (SR150,000) King Khalid University Cup at King Abdulaziz Racecourse.
The Red Stable of Prince Faisal Bin Khalid Bin Abdulaziz is well represented in the 1,400 meter event with three runners and the mount of Nawaf Al-Mudiani is by far the pick, having left Clive Cox in the UK before registering four wins in Riyadh last term.
His final success came with a comprehensive victory in the Dirt Sprint Qualifier in January before finishing sixth to the Breeders’ Cup winner Straight No Chaser (US) in the Group 2 Riyadh Dirt Sprint on Saudi Cup weekend.
The six-year-old will also be having his first outing for Sultan Bin Jalal having formerly been in the care of US conditioner Jimmy Jerkens.
His main dangers would appear to be Luis Morales’ mount Love De Vega (IRE), who was also progressive last season — finishing third in the 1351 Sprint Qualifier — and has his first start since winning in March, along with the Adel Al-Fouraidi-ridden Power Of Beauty (IRE), who was eighth in the Riyadh Dirt Sprint.
Saturday also features two stand-out races for three-year-olds and Camilo Ospina takes the mount of November’s impressive winner Zanaat (KSA) for the White Stable of King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz in the $40,000 Ministry of Sports Cup for fillies over 1,800 meters.
The equivalent race for colts and geldings is the 1,600 meter $40,000 Saudi Broadcasting Authorities Cup for which 17 will go to post, and Tuwajeri (IRE) is top-rated for jockey Muhammad Al-Daham, trainer Thamer Al-Daihani and owner Sheikh Abdullah Homoud Al-Malek Al-Sabah.
A competitive Open over 1,800 meters worth $32,000 rounds off Saturday’s card in which Al-Fouraidi and the Red Stable have an excellent chance with Painters Palette (IRE), who bids to follow up a recent five-and-a-quarter length victory.
Friday’s action is dominated by The Primary Champion of the Racecourses Sponsored by The JCSA — which are a series of three different races and sit alongside the Prince Fahad Bin Jalawi Cup and the Prince Abdullah Bin Jalawi Cup. All are worth a valuable $80,000.
The former is over 1,200 meters for older horses and has a field of seven headed by two highly-rated runners in Al-Daihani’s Muqtahem (IRE), who bids for a fifth win on the bounce, and Red Stable runner Zefzaf (US), who got back to winning ways on Dec. 19.
The latter race is for three-year-old fillies over 1,400 meters and features Sioux Perfect (IRE), who left Andrew Balding in the UK to join trainer Nawaf Al-Daihani and built on her underwhelming debut to score last weekend.
A maximum field has been declared for the Primary Champion of the Racecourses for four-year-old fillies over 1,800 meters topped by Ableekh (KSA) and Okht Saham (KSA), while 16 have been declared for the Purebred Arabian version of the Primary Champions race over 2,000 meters open to both sexes.
Top rated in that are Al-Komndaan (KSA) and Midhass (KSA), while Nijinski Al-Maury (FR), Saif Barzan (KSA) and Al-Kaaser (FR) are the standouts in the all-aged event over 1,800 meters.
