Lucknow, May 8 (IANS) Opener Mitchell Marsh said his intent was to give Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) the best possible start in the powerplay after smashing a sensational 111 off just 56 balls in their thrilling nine-run win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the Ekana Cricket Stadium on Thursday.
Marsh’s explosive innings powered LSG to 209/3 in the rain-curtailed 19-overs-a-side contest, a total that eventually proved just enough as the hosts restricted RCB to 203/6 while chasing DLS adjusted 213 runs target, despite a fierce late fightback.
“I wanted to try and get us off to the best start possible. Yeah, I just tried to impact the power play as much as I could. It’s probably been an area that we’ve struggled in this year so far, consistently. So, I wanted to try and get us off to the best start possible, and then once I got in, sort of try and cash in and pretty much just get as many runs as I could,” Marsh said in a video released by IPL on X.
Marsh dominated the RCB attack from the outset and stitched together a crucial 70-run partnership with Nicholas Pooran despite multiple rain interruptions during the innings.
“I think like anybody, just try and be really clear, have your plans and try and execute it. It was a bit of a stop-starting night, but I managed to form that partnership with Nicky when we came off a few times and get us to a really competitive total, and we needed all of that 213 or whatever it was,” he added.
The Australian all-rounder also reserved special praise for young pacer Prince Yadav, who played a decisive role with the ball by finishing with figures of 3-33, including wickets of Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal and Jitesh Sharma.
“He’s super confident in what he does and wants to bowl all the hard overs. So, he’s the joy that you want in your team as a bowler, and it’s been wonderful to watch him go about his business this year,” Marsh said.
RCB’s chase was led by skipper Rajat Patidar, who hammered 61 off 31 deliveries, while Tim David smashed 40 off 17 balls to keep the visitors in the hunt till the final over.
However, Prince and Shahbaz Ahmed delivered timely breakthroughs before Digvesh Singh Rathi held his nerve in the final over to seal a tense win for LSG.
–IANS
sds/bc
