Sunil Narine proved to be the difference-maker as Kolkata Knight Riders edged Lucknow Super Giants in a thrilling IPL encounter in Lucknow on Sunday, wrapping up the contest with a Super Over win after both teams finished regulation play on 155. After a hard-fought tie, Narine stepped into the spotlight once again, using his experience to strike twice in the extra session—removing Nicholas Pooran and Aiden Markram—so that LSG were restricted to just 1 for two, the lowest total ever recorded in a Super Over in the league. KKR, meanwhile, kept their composure and got the two runs they needed, with Rinku Singh—who also starred in the field with four catches—delivering the winning runs.
The foundation for KKR’s 155 for seven was laid by Rinku’s resilient knock of 83 not out off 51 balls. That late surge gave the visitors something defendable, and once Super Giants managed to keep KKR to that modest total, driven by Mohsin Khan’s dominant spell, Lucknow looked set for a rare home triumph. Instead, the hosts struggled to build their chase on a slow black-soil surface, where the Kolkata bowling unit found consistent rhythm.
The final result moved KKR up to eighth place on the table with five points, while LSG slipped to the bottom with four points. Lucknow’s squad features big-name performers—captain Rishabh Pant, Markram, Mitchell Marsh and Pooran—but none of them were able to steer the innings with the required control on the evening. Pant, on 42, and Markram, on 31, appeared to be gaining traction early, stitching together a 57-run stand for the second wicket following Marsh’s departure.
However, the momentum stalled when Markram was dismissed after a pace-off delivery from Cameron Green. Pant’s attempt to reverse-scoop Narine also went wrong, as the ball was taken cleanly by wicketkeeper Tim Seifert. With the chase derailed, the responsibility increasingly fell on younger domestic players—Ayush Badoni, Himmat Singh and Mukul Choudhary—to guide LSG through a tense finish.
Luck and grit kept the equation alive, as they reduced the target to 17 off the final over. Then the pressure spiked further when Kartik Tyagi bowled two successive no-balls, bringing the chase down to 12 required from the last five balls. Even after those waist-high illegal deliveries, Tyagi was allowed to continue because officials judged the second no-ball as non-dangerous. After Tyagi dismissed Himmat Singh, LSG needed 8 off 3 balls, but Mohammed Shami struck with a last-ball six, forcing the match into the first Super Over of the season.
Earlier, Mohsin Khan had already set the tone for KKR’s innings by adding another difficult chapter to their batting troubles. The left-arm pacer finished with figures of five wickets for 23, restricting Knight Riders to 155 for seven. Mohsin ripped through a struggling top order, taking key scalps including Ajinkya Rahane, Seifert, Cameron Green, Rovman Powell and Anukul Roy, dismantling their progress when they appeared to be finding moments to regroup.
Rinku then made sure the innings didn’t collapse completely. He punished Shami in the 19th over, striking 6, 4 and 4, and followed that by smashing four consecutive sixes against spinner Digvesh Rathi. That late acceleration pushed KKR beyond the 150-run mark, but despite the final flourish, Mohsin’s spell remained the defining feature of the innings.
Mohsin’s effectiveness came from straightforward, repeatable tactics: keep the ball skidding into the black-soil track to earn bounce, and mix in cutters at varying paces to unsettle batters. Starting the night with a wicket maiden, he showed the breadth of his options across two dismissals. First, he followed Rahane with a fuller ball as the batter tried to clear the infield over the covers, but the trajectory allowed a simple catch for Markram.
He stayed composed even when Green—who had looked comfortable earlier and struck George Linde for two straight sixes—launched a huge maximum off him. Two balls later, Mohsin dug one short, challenging Green (34) to go for the pull, and the Australian all-rounder obliged. The angle worked again, with Green only managing to sky the ball to wicketkeeper Pant. That dismissal also ended a fifth-wicket partnership worth 42 between Green and Rinku Singh.
There was also an unusual moment of frustration for KKR when Angkrish Raghuvanshi was dismissed after obstructing the field. On the last ball of the fifth over from Prince Yadav, Raghuvanshi tapped a delivery towards mid-on and set off for a single, only to be sent back by Green. Raghuvanshi dived to try to save himself, but he ended up in the direct line of Shami’s throw. The third umpire, Rohit Pandit, accepted LSG’s appeal and ruled that Raghuvanshi’s turning movement exceeded what was permitted, leading to a rare dismissal in that manner.
