Noor Ahmad’s Magical Spell Steers Texas Super Kings Towards Their Second Win

It was a déjà vu moment for the Texas Super Kings, as just like in the first match, they were asked to bat first, posted almost the same total, and defended the target successfully. Donovan Ferreira’s blistering knock at the end helped TSK post a total of 184, and Noor Ahmad’s brilliant spell of 4/25 led the side to a comprehensive 57-run victory.

Toss and Team News

Sunil Narine won the toss and decided to field first.
LAKR Playing XI: Andre Russell, Saif Badar, Sunil Narine (c), Shadley van Schalkwyk, Ali Khan, Tanveer Sangha, Andre Fletcher, Alex Hales, Unmukt Chand (wk), Nitish Kumar, Matthew Tromp
TSK Playing XI: Faf du Plessis (c), Devon Conway (wk), Calvin Savage, Shubham Ranjane, Adam Milne, Noor Ahmad, Zia-ul-Haq, Stephen Wing, Saiteja Mukkamalla, Daryl Mitchell, Donovan Ferreira

A team batting effort by TSK

Unlike the previous match, it was a combined team effort by TSK to reach a competitive total. None of the batters played a long innings; instead, four of the six batters that batted for TSK scored in the 30s, while one scored 24. The only batter to not reach double figures was the skipper, Faf du Plessis, who was dismissed for 8 by Russell.

Devon Conway and Saiteja Mukkamalla formed a good partnership after the early dismissal of du Plessis. Conway scored 34, while Mukkamalla made 31 off 22. Shubham Ranjane played a useful innings as well, scoring 24 off 19.

However, the main partnership came between Daryl Mitchell and Donovan Ferreira. The pair added 61 runs in the last 29 balls, getting their team to a big total on a relatively slow pitch. Mitchell provided solid support to Ferreira, scoring 36 off 33, while the latter played a lightning-fast innings of 36 at a 200 strike rate, setting a total of 184 on the board for TSK.

LAKR’s batting line struggles against Noor’s spell

Alex Hales and Unmukt Chand provided a decent start for LAKR after the early dismissal of Andre Fletcher by Adam Milne. Chasing a big target of 184, Alex Hales scored 25, but the going was slow. Unmukt Chand tried to anchor the innings, but scoring 22 off 23 in a high-scoring chase was nowhere near enough.

The big names failed yet again for LAKR, with Russell scoring just 1, while skipper Narine was sent back for a golden duck. Matthew Tromp (23) and Shadley van Schalkwyk (27) provided some solace for LAKR fans, but the target was just too high. In the end, they fell short by 57 runs, putting a huge dent in their net run rate as well.

Though the TSK batters performed well, it was their bowlers who produced the star performances. Noor Ahmad was absolutely sensational, and the LAKR batters had no clue how to pick his straighter ones. He finished his spell with 4 for 25. Milne was unplayable as well, conceding just 8 runs in 3.1 overs while taking two wickets.

Man of the Match

Noor Ahmad’s spell of 4 for 25 earned him the Man of the Match award.