As it happened - Delhi Capitals vs Lucknow Super Giants, IPL 2022, Mumbai

Half-centuries from KL Rahul and Deepak Hooda, followed up by a special spell from Mohsin Khan sealed a tight six-run win for Lucknow Super Giants over Delhi Capitals on Saturday. For Super Giants, the win appeared in danger when their dropped catches and sloppy fielding gave Rishabh Pant's men extra chances and bonus runs, but left-arm quick Mohsin's dismissals of Rishabh Pant, Rovman Powell, and Shardul Thakur in his last two overs appeared to end the contest.

Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav did rally with the bat to hit an unbeaten partnership of 41 in 3.2 overs to rattle Super Giants late in the contest, but Marcus Stoinis successfully conceded only 14 while defending 20 to get the win.

It was the second time that the team winning the toss and batting first ended victorious. Rahul (77) and Hooda (52) struck a partnership of 95 in 61 balls after they opted to bat first, and it was a decision that paid off since they made early use of a surface that did not offer big bounce, instead staying slow and low as the game progressed. Despite the lack of a big flurry at the death with wickets in hand, they still finished on a competitive 195 for 3.

It was a target that needed runs from Prithvi Shaw and David Warner in the second innings, but after both openers fell early, the Capitals were always behind in the game. Despite Mitchell Marsh's 20-ball 37, Pant's 30-ball 44, Powell's 21-ball 35 and Axar's late burst of 42 in 24 balls, it was not enough. After nine games, Capitals now have more losses than wins, while Super Giants moved to second on the points table.

Axar Patel hits a consolatary six to finish the games, but 195 proved to be one shot too much for the Delhi Capitals. Another win for Lucknow Super Giants, who now move to second, and get one step closer to sealing a top-two finish.

Today it was Mohsin Khan's 4 for 14 - economy of 3.50 - that proved to be the difference. The team winning the toss and batting first wins, making it 2-1 (W/L) now.

With CSK vs SRH already underway, we won't be having any post-match words from the captains yet.

Capitals haven't given up. Axar hasn't given up. Kuldeep hasn't given up. It's 21 off six balls and Stoinis has to bowl the 20th.

First ball to Kuldeep.... six!

Second ball.... wide!

Re-bowled second ball...single, Axar back on strike.

Third ball to Axar....dot! Could've been four straight down the ground on another day.

Fourth ball.... a refused single. 13 off 2 - Super Over the best scenario for Capitals

Fifth ball... single down the ground, and Super Giants are going to win this

Mohsin Khan continues to impress. Had an economy of 4 starting his final over, and has not only dismissed Rovman Powell with a cutter, but sends Shardul Thakur back too! Krunal Pandya the catcher both times. Can he get a fifth? The Capitals seem destined to the loss now with the required run-rate almost 14.50.

The broadcasters on TV showed some analysis surrounding Mohsin v Pant a while ago where it showed how Mohsin set the wicket up with a flurry of good length balls followed by the full wicket-taking delivery. The lad is smart, the lad is quick, and today he could very well be a Player of the Match candidate. What a season it has been for the newbies.

Axar joins in on the act by hitting Bishnoi for six. Powell then hits a four off Holder. The 15th and 16th go for 11 each when Capitals need 12 per over. Equation now 50 off 24. Crucial four overs for the Capitals given how precariously they are positioned on the points table. More so against LSG who will jump to second if they win. If they lose, they will be near the borderline at the fourth-place mark.

Mohsin Khan continues to impress with his pace and lines, and this time he has the scalp of Rishabh Pant to add to his CV. Falls for 44, looking in the mood to take the bowling on, but misses the flick and loses his stumps.

Rovman Powell, though, has settled in well. Hit Gowtham for 6,6,4. Got a boundary out of Mohsin too. He will now need Axar Patel's company for a while, and maybe a bit more from Shardul too.

The Pant wicket allows Chameera to slip in a four-run over and here we are for the final chapter with the time out also taken.

Super Giants massive favourites but Capitals are still in it. They need 72 in 36

Could've, should've, would've. What Super Giants will be hoping is that they don't end up using those words at the end of this game. Their ground fielding has been shabby and the captain has now dropped Rishabh Pant at cover! Pant tried to slap Bishnoi over the infield, and Rahul had a comfortable catch, but the ball popped out of his palm. #TheCaptainDropsTheCaptain

Rovman Powell isn't having it easy with the spinners either right now after replacing Lalit Yadav. Lalit was bowled by Bishnoi between updates. Despite the fielding boo-hoos so far, LSG are 91.57% favourites to close the game out.

Capitals 95 for 4 after 11 overs.

Gowtham starts off the eighth, and it's a length ball that has gone straight along. Marsh backs away to punch, and the ball whizzes under his bat to the keeper. Appeal for caught behind, and the umpire says out! Marsh looks up, sees the decision, and walks back.

But Gowtham is wearing a somewhat sheepish grin. Was there an edge? Maybe not! Marsh didn't review, and if he did, Ultra-edge would've said there is no edge. Ricky Ponting, Ajit Agarkar and a few other Capitals staff members are gobsmacked.

A wicket thrown away by Marsh when he was on 37 and looking so good. Surely he would've reviewed if he thought it was not out. Maybe he heard the bat's handle click because there was some sound. Mysterious, but has happened before too - Virat at the 2019 ODI World Cup against Pakistan is one example. Anyway, here's Lalit Yadav now, with the wicket against the run of play.

Super Giants need to break this partnership - and fast. The fifty stand was brought up in 16 balls. And Rahul has turned to Ravi Bishnoi with Marsh on strike. But Marsh will grow in confidence against the spinner with the four through point. However, it was helped with a Gowtham misfield. Seven off the over.

But Bishnoi will like bowling to Pant. Pant's strike-rate is one of the worst (107) off Bishnoi.

Maruti Suzuki ASKcricinfo stat: Ravi Bishnoi's most expensive season at the IPL - can he start to turn these numbers around today?

Capitals 73 for 2 after 7.

A tidy first over from Mohsin Khan frustrated Prithvi Shaw. And so Dushmantha Chameera was welcomed with a four by him, however, Shaw's weakness to the short ball ended his stay for 5, top-edging a pull to midwicket. David Warner, too, fell for 3, after Ayush Badoni took a low catch off Mohsin and now we have Rishabh Pant and Mitch Marsh early. Way too early for the Capitals' comfort.

Krunal Pandya is brought on for the fourth over, and Pant gets on strike on the second ball. The third ball from Krunal is drilled through square leg for four. The fourth ball is an outside edge to third man for four. The fifth ball was smacked down the ground and the sixth ball went for four down the ground after Holder misfielded. A 19-run fourth over to boost their effort after the openers fell.

And Holder's bad streak continues after coming to bowl the fifth over. Marsh creams his first ball over the top for six. Two balls later, he hits a six over the leg side. Two balls later, Pant hits a four through the left of point and with Holder going for 17.

With the runs leaking, Chameera is brought back, but he doesn't have any effect. Marsh pulls him for six, then gets a four, and a Pant boundary takes off another 17 off the target.

What do you think?

David Warner likes this bowling unit. Averages 45 against Jason Holder and has a strike-rate of 150 against Krunal Pandya. If Warner gets a fifty, he will become the man with the most T20 fifties, he is currently tied on 89 with Chris Gayle.

What's most impressive for Warner has been his strike-rate. With Prithvi Shaw as partner, there could've been some temptation for him to rein his shots in, but in his last four games his lowest strike-rate has been 162. Two of them have been 200! Against pacers especially in the powerplay, he has gotten a boundary once every 3.7 deliveries. His strike-rate of 173 in the first 10 balls of an innings in IPL 2022 is the highest he has ever had in his IPL career. His second-best numbers came in 2009 (150) and 2010 (145) and that was a time he was just beginning to bloom.

However, Warner does struggle against Ravi Bishnoi (out three times to googlies) in the IPL. Will KL Rahul take the gamble and bring his wristspinner early?

As for Prithvi Shaw, he is doing just what the team needs from him. He's made 37+ five times this season, and the Capitals wouldn't mind him getting out while being positive. However, he starts off this innings with just 1 run in his first five balls as Mohsin Khan takes the new ball.

What would hurt Super Giants is they couldn't really maximise the advantage of a long batting line up but 195 for 3 is a score they would've taken at the toss. Stoinis hit a six off Mustafizur Rahman's final over - that went for 15 - to finish on 17 in 16 while Krunal made 9 in his six deliveries.

But then maybe we are being too critical. Some believe an innings is based on partnerships and on that note, Super Giants ticked the box with full marks. 26-ball 42 for the openers, 61-ball 95 between the half-centurions, 25-ball 39 between Rahul and Stoinis, and 19 off eight for the unbeaten stand.

A bit about the bowlers: Nothing for any bowler apart from Shardul. Took all three, but continues to be expensive - today going for 40. Fizz proved expensive at the death, Sakariya went for 11 per over, Lalit Yadav's lone over for 16 ended up being a bad idea, and the only bowler who actually impressed was Axar Patel. 0-25 between his spell in the powerplay and early middle overs.

Deepak Hooda tells the broadcasters that the heat is no problem for Indians who play domestic cricket in similar conditions. He said he plays at No. 3 in domestic cricket so it's a position he knows well.

This innings isn't over yet, but the scoring rate between overs 13-18 was a shade over 7, in part an effect of the Hooda wicket. But also Stoinis' struggle. After that first-ball four, he has not been able to time the cutters bowled by Sakariya and Mustafizur, and Kuldeep sucked the momentum out too with a string of dot balls.

Rahul continues to strike from one end, but with Stoinis on only 10 off his first 14 balls, it is not enough for a team that is just two wickets down.

Rahul eventually falls to a wide-ish ball off Shardul in the 19th. His slice over the off side couldn't beat Lalit Yadav in the deep. His 51-ball 77 was an innings that could be called faultless. With an early wicket he ensured he held up one end while Hooda attacked, and after both were set, Rahul successfully changed his tempo. All on a type of surface we like to call "tacky"

Here's Krunal now, needing to hit from the first ball. Super Giants 180 for 3 after 19 overs.

There is very little doubt that Stoinis, the batter, has not quite been maximised by the Super Giants. But he walks in during the 15th over after Hooda falls to Shardul for 52.

Starts off with a first-ball four, and has then looked a bit iffy against Kuldeep.

So how has Stoinis' season with the bat been? After his 17-ball 38 in a losing cause from No. 8 against Rajasthan Royals, he hasn't made any other score of note. In the rest of his games, he averages under 9 with a strike-rate of 113.

His problem here has been that the Super Giants want him to be the finisher, allowing others to come before him, but that has only left Super Giants thinking of "what ifs".... what if Stoinis was sent earlier against Royals? What if Stoinis gets a few more balls to settle in before going for the big shots? Is that the better option? They surely want to test the hypothesis out today. But even if it doesn't work out, that should be OK - there's still Badoni, Holder, Krunal and Gowtham to follow.

He was 27 off 24, and 11 balls later, KL Rahul is raising his bat for a 35-ball half-century. The six off Kuldeep in the previous update started the charge, and Sakariya-Shardul have faced the brunt too. Sakariya was too much on the hips and Rahul flicked him behind square, and Shardul was too wide, and Rahul cut him away.

Hooda continues playing through the off side, but with Rahul now in his purple patch, Hooda has been happy to let the senior batter play more. Gets his fifty in 32 balls as the 14th over comes to a close with Super Giants at 134 for 1. Forecaster on ESPNcricinfo says LSG to end on 193. With a line-up this deep, Flower-Gambhir would expect more after this start.

The graphics on TV suggest that Kuldeep has bowled slower and fuller than his usual numbers for this season, which is dangerous against Indian batters who play spin so well. Against some other batters, maybe inexperienced Indians or overseas players, the lack of pace could force false shots, but these guys have feasted on him. As Hooda and Rahul have gotten more accustomed to the wicket, they have even enjoyed the so called "lack of" pace offered by the seamers and are now playing accordingly.

Even though Rahul is approaching 30 with a strike-rate of under 115, Hooda has been adventurous against the spinners. Axar's tweakers turning away have been crunched through the covers, and he hasn't let Kuldeep Yadav settle either with boundaries through the same region. He's been setting himself up for the inside out shots, and 17 of his 32 runs (including 4 fours have come through cover).

Meanwhile, as I type this, Rahul has showed first signs of a change in gears. 9.5 from Kuldeep is tossed up on his legs, and Rahul smacks him over deep midwicket. Axar, meanwhile, is going to bowl out from the other end. Just the one boundary off his first three overs, and the batters have been more than happy knocking him around for singles, but Hooda is not going to let Axar end his spell without a six. A big one over long on normalises an otherwise tidy Axar spell (0-25).

It's a pitch where the balls are staying low, the cutters are forcing mis-hits, and spinners are getting grip. Maybe it was a match-up, or perhaps Pant identified that, because Axar Patel and Lalit Yadav have operated in the powerplay. But it didn't quite work out, with Axar's attempt at bowling to Rahul foiled by a single that brought de Kock on strike, and vice versa against the offspinner Lalit. de Kock hurt Lalit in a 16-run over.

The momentum after that, though, was shattered by Shardul Thakur, bowling as the fifth different bowler inside five overs. de Kock reached for a ball angling away for a big shot, and ended up finding point. But his 13-ball 23 has given Super Kings a start of over 9 per over in the powerplay, and it's now time for Rahul (batting strike rate around 100) and Deepak Hooda to build on the early burst. Rahul, in particular, has been especially slow in the 2nd half this innings thus far, scoring only 3 in his last 10 balls.

With KL Rahul in imperious form and also having impressive numbers against Chetan Sakariya, Mustafizur Rahman and Shardul Thakur, should the Capitals open the bowling with Axar Patel? In four IPL innings, Rahul averages only 8 (!) against Axar, with a strike-rate of 76 and the bowler dismissing the batter two times.

Kuldeep Yadav will remain crucial for the Capitals, with his four overs between 7-15. In that period, no other bowler has taken more wickets (12) than him this season. With an overseas middle order in Stoinis and Holder, Kuldeep could hold the key to Capitals' success. In all, eight of his 17 wickets have come from googlies, so that will keep the Super Giants batters guessing. However, Wankhede is not his ground. Even though he conceded only 14 against a struggling KKR, he conceded 46 (in four overs) and 40 (in three overs) against RCB and Royals previously at the venue.

But the biggest issue plaguing the Capitals is their lack of top-order wickets. They've taken only 10 powerplay wickets - the least among all teams - and if you don't get Rahul-de Kock early, it could be a very long afternoon in the field. The main struggle has come from Shardul Thakur (average 105, economy 8.8) in the powerplay. The left-arm seamers Fizz and Khaleel have actually kept proceedings tight. Shardul has erred by offering width in the powerplay, and has been punished, which could be a reason why Sakariya is now the new-ball partner for Fizz.

As for Super Giants, it's a catch-22 situation. The openers have scored over 44% of the team's runs, which means the middle and lower order hasn't had a LOT of balls to face, but they wouldn't mind it. Whenever one of their openers have scored 40 or more, they have won in the IPL. In all their wins, the openers have contributed atleast 30% of the runs.

The big question remains where Marcus Stoinis bats though. It's time to play, so let's sit back and enjoy the action.

PS. Capitals are Rahul's least favourite team in terms of average.

Can Super Giants do the season double over Capitals? The first time they met, the Capitals raced away to 57/0 after the powerplay courtesy Prithvi Shaw. But Bishnoi's 2 for 22 restricted Capitals to only 149. After that, an 80 from Quinton de Kock, and a six from Ayush Badoni sealed a comfortable win. But Kuldeep Yadav did take two wickets for Capitals that day, and Rishabh Pant will want the same from his lead spinner.

And here's Krunal Pandya, Super Giants' player of the match from the last game: "I was playing a lot of short-form cricket in last 2-3 years and my stride became too long. With my mindset, I thought if I develop my skills and shorten my stride, then I can get some more turn and bounce. That will help me be more effective. Earlier I wanted to squeeze my overs out for 6-7 runs, but now my mindset is to be smart but also search for wickets. (Leadership role at Super Giants) I love taking responsibility and love challenges. When someone says 'you are the man', I don't feel pressure.

Toss Lucknow Super Giants opt to bat vs Delhi Capitals