Pooran maintains good form but Giants thrashed by Kings

LUCKNOW, India (CMC):

Nicholas Pooran stood out once again for the Lucknow Super Giants, but it was not enough to prevent them from going down by eight wickets to the Punjab Kings when the Indian Premier League (IPL) continued yesterday.

Pooran fell just short of a third consecutive half-century, scoring 44 from 30 balls with five fours and two sixes, the topscore in the Super Giants' total of 171 for seven off their 20 overs at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium.

Ayush Badoni made 41 from 33 balls, Aiden Markram scored 28 off 18, and Abdul Samad chipped in with 27 from 12.

Left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh was the pick of the Kings' bowlers with 3-43.

Prabhsimran Singh and captain Shreyas Iyer than slammed half-centuries to propel the Kings to 177 for two from just 16.2 overs.

Singh blasted 69 from 34 balls with nine fours and three sixes, while Iyer hit an unbeaten 52 from 30 balls.

And when Singh was eventually dismissed with the score on 110 for two in the 11th over, Nehal Wadhera scored an unbeaten 43 from 25 balls to ease their side over the line.