Lucknow, May 23 (IANS) Riding on Josh Inglis’s fluent 72 off 44 balls and Abdul Samad’s unbeaten 37 off 20 deliveries, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) posted 196/6 against Punjab Kings in their final league clash of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 at the BRSABV Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Saturday.

Inglis didn’t see much of the strike in the first few overs, as he lost partners from the other end. But he slowly came into his own to add 49 runs for the third wicket and shared a 65-run partnership with Rishabh Pant. Inglis came into his own during the middle overs to hit nine fours and two sixes in all in his knock, coming at a strike-rate of 163.64.

At 147/4 in 15 overs, LSG were primed for a big finish, but losing Inglis was huge for them. Though Samad did show some fight with a late cameo, LSG will reckon they ended at least 10-15 runs short of a par score on a good batting pitch. For PBKS, Yuzvendra Chahal and Marco Jansen were the standout bowlers with two scalps each, as the side needs to win this game and then hope RR lose to MI to enter the playoffs.

The innings began briskly for LSG, though they suffered early setbacks. Arshin Kulkarni and Nicholas Pooran fell cheaply, leaving the hosts two down inside the Power-play. Inglis did not see much of the strike initially, but once it had settled, he counter‑attacked with authority.

Badoni joined Inglis and the pair steadied the innings before the former was stumped off Chahal for 43. Inglis then found another partner in Pant, and together they pushed the score past 100. With Inglis striking cleanly through the middle overs, LSG looked assured for a big total, though they lost Pant for 26.

But Inglis’ dismissal checked their momentum, leaving Samad to shoulder the responsibility in the death overs after Mukul Choudhary fell cheaply. Samad rose to the occasion with crisp strokes through point and mid‑wicket to take LSG past the 190-mark.

The question now is whether it will be enough for LSG to defend against PBKS, who must win to stay in playoff contention. LSG, already out of the race for the playoffs, will look to their bowlers to defend the total.

Brief scores:

Lucknow Super Giants 196/6 in 20 overs (Josh Inglis 72, Ayush Badoni 43; Yuzvendra Chahal 2-25, Marco Jansen 2-33) against Punjab Kings

–IANS

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