In an IPL 2023 match between the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and the Mumbai Indians, Marcus Stoinis played a pivotal role in boosting the LSG’s innings with an unbeaten 89 runs. The match, held in Lucknow on Tuesday, saw Stoinis showcase his power-hitting skills, smashing seven sixes in his aggressive knock. Meanwhile, Krunal Pandya, leading the Lucknow Super Giants, played the anchor role and was batting on 49 off 42 balls until the 16th over.
However, Pandya suffered an injury during his innings and was seen hobbling before the start of the next over. There was confusion about whether Pandya had retired hurt or retired out. While rules permit a batsman to declare himself out anytime during the innings, it was unclear what Pandya’s situation was. Indian spinner R Ashwin even tweeted about the incident, questioning whether Pandya was retired. Ashwin defended Pandya, stating that the rules permit a player to retire out and that there was no cheating involved. After the game, Pandya clarified that he had retired hurt due to cramps and a pulled muscle.
Despite a poor start, with LSG reeling at 35 for three in the seventh over, Stoinis played a crucial role in their recovery. He formed an 82-run partnership with Krunal Pandya, who later retired hurt, to help LSG post a challenging total of 177 for three. The pitch posed challenges for the batsmen throughout the match, with its two-paced nature.
LSG made a questionable decision to leave out their leading run-getter, Kyle Myers, for the match. The move did not work in their favor as his replacement, Deepak Hooda, was dismissed for just five runs by Jason Behrendorff’s slower ball. The following delivery saw Prerak Mankad getting caught behind while trying to run toward the third man off Behrendorff’s angled delivery.
The situation worsened for LSG when Quinton de Kock fell in the seventh over after attempting a drive off a googly from Piyush Chawla. De Kock was caught behind, leaving the home team in a precarious position.
Stoinis and Krunal took on the responsibility of rebuilding the innings, and they succeeded in forming a gritty partnership. However, Krunal had to retire hurt in the 16th over due to discomfort. From that point on, Stoinis took charge and showcased his powerful stroke-making abilities, hitting massive sixes off spinners Hrithik Shokeen and Chawla in consecutive overs.
Despite the challenging conditions, Stoinis utilized his brute force to find the boundaries and secure crucial runs for his team. In the end, Lucknow Super Giants emerged victorious by a margin of five runs.
