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IPL 2025: Marsh ton, O’Rourke three-for headline Lucknow Super Giant’s big win against table-toppers

Published

10 months ago

2025/05/23

Priyan

Will O'Rourke's two-wicket 17th over turned the game in LSG's favour [BCCI]

Mitchell Marsh scored his maiden IPL hundred, and his second in all T20 cricket, to set the platform for Lucknow Super Giants’ (LSG) 33-run consolation win over Gujarat Titans (GT) in Ahmedabad.

Sent into bat, LSG rode on Marsh’s 117 off 64 balls and Nicholas Pooran’s unbeaten 56 off 27 to post a mammoth 235 for 2 on a high-scoring black-soil surface.

In reply, GT lost Shubman Gill, B Sai Sudarshan and Jos Buttler in 9.3 overs – the earliest that has happened in IPL 2025 – but their largely untested middle order gave LSG a tough fight. Sherfane Rutherford and Shahrukh Khan added 86 in just 40 balls for the fourth wicket.

GT needed 54 in the last four overs with six wickets in hand. But after Will O’Rourke dismissed Rutherford with the first ball of the 17th, the chase petered out. The last four overs produced only 20 and not a single boundary.

The defeat also hurt GT’s chances of a top-two finish.

GT had a slippery start after they won the toss and put LSG in. Arshad Khan slipped twice in his delivery stride in the second over of the innings. Apparently, there was too much grass around the landing area. Two overs later, the ball slipped out of Kagiso Rabada’s hands. Aiden Markram took evasive action but Hawk-Eye deemed it to be a legal delivery. It showed the ball would have been 1.11 metres high at the batting crease, 2cm below Markram’s waist when standing upright. In between, Marsh and Markram had a few mis-hits and also found some boundaries. By the end of the powerplay, LSG had reached 53 for no loss.

With two right-handers in the middle, Gill introduced R Sai Kishore into the attack before Rashid Khan. Marsh hit two sixes off his first eight balls but the spinner broke the 91-run opening stand soon after with Markram’s wicket.

That brought to the crease Pooran and more carnage. He and Marsh added 121 runs in just 52 balls. Rashid came to bowl the 12th over. Before this game, Marsh had scored only 31 off 33 balls against him. Tonight, he went 6, 4, 6, 4, 4, 1 in his first over.

With Pooran in the middle, Gill took the gamble of giving Sai Kishore another over. It did not come off as Pooran farmed the strike and hit the spinner for one six and one four in four balls.

Marsh had taken 33 balls for his first fifty. For his second, he needed only 23. Pooran’s fifty also came in 23 balls. In the final over, Rishabh Pant gave a glimpse of what-if as he hit Rabada for two sixes to finish unbeaten on 16 off six balls.

Coming into this game, Gill, Sai Sudharsan and Buttler had scored 76.87% of GT’s bat runs in the season. In their previous game, Gill and Sai Sudharsan had chased down 200 against Delhi Capitals (DC) on their own. The two once again looked sublime and added 46 in 4.3 overs before Sai Sudharsan chipped O’Rourke to mid-off where Markram dived forward to take a low catch.

Buttler hit two fours and two sixes off Avesh Khan in the sixth over to keep the momentum going. But in his next over, Avesh had Gill slicing one to Abdul Samad at wide long-off for another excellent catch.

Two overs later, Buttler was also back in the pavilion. Akash Singh, who had split his webbing earlier, returned with a heavily strapped right hand and breached Buttler’s defence with a slower one. Akash dedicated the wicket to Digvesh Rathi by bringing out the notebook celebration. After ten overs, GT were 97 for 3 and needed 139 more in the remaining ten.

Before this game, GT’s middle order (Nos. 4-7) had the lowest average (21.39) in the league but also the highest strike rate (165.65). In a way, it was a corollary of their prosperous top order. On Thursday, however, GT did not want their middle order to just flash. They wanted them to keep the fire burning.

Rutherford and Shahrukh did exactly that. They smashed three fours and three sixes to ransack 36 runs from overs 14th and 15th, bowled by Avesh and Shahbaz Ahmed, respectively. LSG were still the favourites but GT were also in with a fair chance. O’Rourke then dealt the decisive blow. He conceded only four in the 17th over and bookended it with the wickets of Rutherford and Rahul Tewatia. Shahrukh, who had brought up his fifty off 22 balls, swung hard but kept losing his shape as LSG seized control.

Brief scores:

Lucknow Super Giants 235 for 2 in 20 overs (Aiden Markram 36, Mitchell Marsh 117, Nicholas Pooran 56*, Rishab Pant 16*; Arshad Khan 1-36, Sai Kishore 1-34) beat Gujarat Titans 202 for 9 in 20 overs (Sai Sudarshan 21, Shubman Gill 35, Joss Buttler 33, M Shahrukh Khan 57, Sherfane Rutherford 38; Akash Singh 1-29, Will O’Rourke 3-27, Avesh Khan 2-51, Shahbaz Ahmad 1-41 Ayush Badoni 2-04)by 33 runs

[Cricinfo]

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Heat Index likely to increase up to ‘Caution level’ at some places in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Eastern, North-western, Northern and North-central provinces and in Monaragala district

Published

3 hours ago

2026/03/29

Priyan

Warm Weather Advisory
Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre of the Department of Meteorology
Issued at 3.30 p.m. on 28 March 2026, valid for 29March 2026.

Heat index, the temperature felt on the human body is likely to increase up to ‘Caution level’ at some places in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Eastern, North-western, Northern and North-central provinces and in Monaragala district.

The Heat Index Forecast is calculated by using relative humidity and maximum temperature and this is the condition that is felt on your body. This is not the forecast of maximum temperature. It is generated by the Department of Meteorology for the next day period and prepared by using global numerical weather prediction model data.

Effect of the heat index on human body is mentioned in the above table and it is prepared on the advice of the Ministry of Health and Indigenous Medical Services.

ACTION REQUIRED
Job sites: Stay hydrated and takes breaks in the shade as often as possible.
Indoors: Check up on the elderly and the sick.
Vehicles: Never leave children unattended.
Outdoors: Limit strenuous outdoor activities, find shade and stay hydrated.
Dress: Wear lightweight and white or light-colored clothing.

Note:
In addition, please refer to advisories issued by the Disaster Preparedness & Response Division, Ministry of Health in this regard as well. For further clarifications please contact 011-7446491.

Latest News

Tharanga shatters national javelin record again ‎

Published

3 hours ago

2026/03/29

Priyan

(File pic)

Rumesh Tharanga created history with yet another world leading throw that shattered his own national javelin record at the Champions Track and Field event at Diyagama on Saturday.

‎The massive 89.37 metres throw, when recognized by World Athletics is set to become the fourth furthest throw in the history of the Asian region.

‎Despite little competion from his rivals, Tharanga rose like a champion of an entirely different league when he delivered the record breaking feat in his final attempt.

‎Tharanga had a world leading mark of 83.07 metres for the year coming into this meet. His national record of 86.50 metres was from August 2025. (RF)

Latest News

Three dead after helicopter crash in Hawaii

Published

23 hours ago

2026/03/28

Priyan

The helicopter crashed near Kalalau beach, officials say [BBC]

Three people have died after a helicopter crashed off the Hawaiian island of Kauai, police said.

The helicopter was carrying one pilot and four passengers, police said in a statement. Two survivors were taken to a hospital for treatment.

Police said the helicopter was operated by Airborne Aviation, a company whose website advertises “a doors-off thrill seekers adventure tour” of the picturesque island’s waterfalls, canyons, and beaches.

The US Coast Guard said the helicopter crash-landed about 100 yards off Kalalau beach. Authorities have not yet identified the victims.

Police said they responded to an alert of the crash at around 15:45 local time (01:45 GMT), along with the Coast Guard and fire department.

Kauai’s Mayor Derek Kawakami praised the recovery effort, telling local media: “Here on Kaua’i, whenever somebody puts their feet on our soil, they are one of ours.

“We treat them like one of ours, they are a part of our family, and our first responders respond with that spirit in mind.”

Andrew Williams, search and rescue mission co-ordinator for the Coast Guard in Honolulu, said: “We are greatly saddened by the loss of three lives in this helicopter crash and thinking of those individuals’ families and friends.”

Helicopter tours are a popular way for visitors to tour the island, which is where the blockbuster film Jurassic Park was shot.

Airborne Aviation’s 50-minute tour of the island offered a maximum of four passengers and costs $348 (£262) per passenger, according to its website.

BBC News has contacted Airborne Aviation for comment.

The incident is the latest fatal crash in Kauai involving a tour helicopter. Three people were killed when a helicopter operated by a different tour company crashed in July 2024.

The 2024 crash was caused by “an encounter with turbulence due to downdraft winds that resulted in mast bumping and an inflight breakup”, a report by the National Transportation Safety Board said.

[BBC]