Ahmedabad [India], : Lucknow Super Giants top-order star Mitchell Marsh believes the factor that makes the Indian Premier League the “best competition in the world” comes down to its competitive nature, where any team can beat anyone on a given day.
Lucknow dented Gujarat Titans’ hopes of finishing at the top by derailing their pursuit of a daunting 236-run target and forcing them to surrender to a 33-run defeat. Following his record-shattering ton in the first innings, Marsh was the prime mastermind behind Gujarat’s downfall at their home den in Ahmedabad.
Marsh’s rollicking performance, topped up by Nicholas Pooran’s 56*, powered the Super Giants to a commanding 235/2. Gujarat, the on-paper favourites, got off to a decent start but lost the plot after losing its in-form troika, comprising Sai Sudharsan, skipper Shubman Gill and Jos Buttler.
The Super Giants moved to the sixth spot, but the two points were to no avail, considering the four playoff spots are already locked away. Marsh pointed out their shortcomings in close encounters across the campaign as the reason behind LSG’s exit from the playoff race.
“It’s been very disappointing. We lost close games, and we are out of the race. The IPL is a beast of a competition. Any team can beat any team in this competition on a given day; that’s why this is the best competition in the world,” Marsh said in the post-match presentation after being adjudged the Player of the Match.
With a sizzling 117, Marsh became the first overseas player to reach the three-digit mark in the 18th season of the cash-rich league. The experienced Australian, who had to wait for more than a decade for his first hundred, expressed his emotions after achieving the feat.
“I have had a few years off in between as well . First played for the Deccan Chargers in 2010. It’s been a while. Getting an opportunity to open the batting. The partnership with Aiden on and off the field has been amazing. Came to the IPL pretty fresh. They bowled really well in the powerplay. If you are 12 off 12 in the powerplay, it’s panic stations, but once we got a few good partnerships, it made things easy for us,” he added.
Lucknow’s victory has paved the way for Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Punjab Kings, and Mumbai Indians to dethrone the Gujarat from the top if they stand victorious in their remaining group-stage matches.
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