Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], April 27 (ANI): Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) suffered yet another defeat in IPL 2026 when they lost a close Super Over contest against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Sunday night. It was their eighth successive defeat at home venue in the IPL. They joined the Deccan Chargers in second place for losing the most successive matches at home venue. Delhi Capitals (then Delhi Daredevils) is at the top with nine consecutive defeats at Arun Jaitley Stadium from 2013 to 2015 season. It was also the fifth consecutive defeat of the LSG, which is the longest losing streak for the Lucknow franchise in IPL. They are currently at the bottom of the points table with only two wins in eight matches.
The Rishabh Pant-led side was very close to winning their third match of the season, but they fumbled in the Super Over. Out of form Nicholas Pooran was sent to bat with Aiden Markram, and Sunil Narine got rid of Pooran on the very first delivery. Pant took a single on the second delivery, but Markram lost his wicket while trying for a boundary on the next delivery to set a two-run target for the visitors, which they achieved on the first ball of Prince Yadav’s over, thanks to the Player of the Match, Rinku Singh’s boundary. This is LSG’s 18th defeat in 30 matches while chasing a target in the IPL. They have a win percentage of 40 when they bat second. On the other hand, they have a better win percentage of 57.14 while batting first. They have won 20 out of 36 matches while batting first in the IPL. Earlier, it was with the key contribution from Rinku Singh that KKR set a fighting total of 155 runs, while asked to bat first in Lucknow. Mohsin Khan’s five-wicket haul kept the KKR batters at bay in the middle overs. Rinku made an unbeaten 83 off 51 balls with the help of seven fours and five sixes to help his side cross the 150-run mark. Rinku was also agile while fielding and took four catches. He became the fourth player to take four catches and score 50-plus runs in a match. Jacques Kallis was the first to achieve this feat for KKR against Deccan Chargers in IPL 2011. Riyan Parag (RR) did the same against RCB in IPL 2022. Daryl Mitchell took five catches and made 52 runs against SRH in Chennai in the 2024 season. This was the second time Rinku Singh took four catches for KKR. Only three times has a KKR player taken four catches in an IPL match, and Rinku has done that twice for his side. (ANI)
