Ahmedabad, May 22 (IANS) Opener Mitchell Marsh slammed the fastest century hit by a Lucknow Super Giants batter in Indian Premier League (IPL) history through a 64-ball 117 as the side posted a mammoth 235/2 in their 20 overs against Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium here on Thursday.

Electing to bat first on a black soil pitch, Marsh was severe on the loose deliveries and showcased some great power-hitting skills to hit his first-ever IPL century, laced with ten fours and eight sixes at a strike-rate of 182.81. The standout aspect of Marsh’s amazing knock was his thrashing 25 runs off a Rashid Khan over.

He was ably supported by Aiden Markram, making a quick 24-ball 36 while Nicholas Pooran’s promotion to number three resulted in him making 56 not out off 27 balls – laced with four fours and five sixes at a strike rate of 207.41. For GT, it was a forgettable night as none of the bowlers could make a strong impression on a pitch which was nothing less than a batting beauty.

Pushed into batting first, Makram and Marsh hit seven boundaries between themselves in a sedate power-play yielding 53 runs, with the latter being dropped twice. The six-over phase also saw Arshad Khan slipping twice in his delivery stride in his opening over, though he became fine to complete his quota of overs.

Marsh found his rhythm to slam six boundaries from overs 7-10 and bring up his fifty off just 34 balls with a straight six off R. Sai Kishore. Though Kishore got GT a much-needed breakthrough in the form of Markram’s wicket, Pooran got going by dispatching him over long-off for six.

When Rashid finally came back into the attack in the 12th over, Marsh unlocked his beast mode – swiping, cutting, lofting, and pulling him twice to collect 25 runs. Pooran continued to smack spinners for boundaries before he and Marsh smacked 20 runs off Siraj’s final over. The duo took four each off Arshad before Marsh got his century in 56 balls.

Marsh then hit Krishna for back-to-back sixes in the 18th over, before slicing to backward point off Arshad, ending his stand of 121 off just 52 balls for the second wicket with Pooran. After Pooran swiped Arshad for six, Rishabh Pant lofted and smacked Rabada for two sixes in the final over, as LSG posted their third-highest IPL total.

Brief scores:

Lucknow Super Giants 235/2 in 20 overs (Mitchell Marsh 117, Nicholas Pooran 56 not out; R. Sai Kishore 1-34, Arshad Khan 1-36) against Gujarat Titans

–IANS

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