Marsh’s century earns Lucknow a 33-run win over IPL-leading Gujarat

AHMEDABAD, India (AP) — Mitchell Marsh’s maiden Indian Premier League hundred helped Lucknow Super Giants end their four-match losing streak with a 33-run victory over Gujarat Titans on Thursday.

Gujarat, which tops the table with 18 points, could still finish among top two with a win in the last league game against Chennai Super Kings.

Marsh’s 117 off 64 balls propelled Lucknow to 235-2 with Nicholas Pooran hitting an unbeaten 56 off 27 balls on a black-soil wicket in Ahmedabad.

Tall New Zealand fast bowler Will O’Rourke picked up 3-27 as Gujarat was restricted to 202-9. Shahrukh Khan top-scored with 57 off 29 balls, but he got little support from the other end in pursuit of a tall target.

Lucknow was already out of contention for the playoffs.

Along with Gujarat, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Punjab Kings and Mumbai Indians are the other teams that have qualified for the playoffs.

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O’Rourke ties down Gujarat

O’Rourke had the key wicket of Sai Sudharsan (21) inside the batting powerplay when Aiden Markram took a fine low catch at mid-off.

But Jos Buttler gave the chase momentum when he smashed Avesh Khan for 4-6-6-4 as Gujarat finished the powerplay at 67-1.

Captain Shubman Gill hit seven boundaries in his 35-run knock, but Abdul Samad sprinted sideways at long-off and completed a diving catch to bring back Lucknow in the game in the eighth over.

Left-arm fast bowler Akash Singh, who split his right hand webbing while stopping Gill’s hard drive, returned with his injured hand heavily strapped and clean bowled Buttler off a slower delivery.

Lucknow struggled in the middle overs in the absence of its leading wicket-taker Digvesh Rathi, who was suspended for one game for his notebook celebration against Abhishek Sharma in the last game against Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Sherfane Rutherford (38) and Shahrukh shared an 86-run stand and brought down the target to 54 off the final four overs. But O’Rourke struck twice and removed Rutherford and Rahul Tewatia, and Ayush Badoni picked up two wickets in the final over to hand Gujarat only its second home defeat this season.

Marsh marvels

Marsh and Markram (36) had been Lucknow’s batting mainstay this season and once again provided a rollicking 91-run start off 59 balls after Gill won the toss and elected to field.

Gill held back ace leg-spinner Rashid Khan and got the breakthrough from left-arm spinner Sai Kishore when Markram was caught on the edge of boundary at long-off.

But Marsh upped the ante with his brutal hitting against Rashid when the Afghan spinner’s first over went for 25 runs that featured two sixes and three boundaries from the Australian batter.

Marsh added another brisk 121 off just 52 balls with Pooran and brought his century off 56 balls — only his second in T20 cricket and first in the IPL.

Marsh fell in the penultimate when Rutherford dived forward at deep backward point as Marsh couldn’t clear fast bowler Arshad Khan’s length ball.

Captain Rishabh Pant (16 not out), who had a struggling season with the bat that featured seven single-digit scores, hit two sixes from the six balls he faced as Lucknow ended strongly.

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