It was just not our night! Despite a brilliant half-century by Ayush Badoni and a blitzkrieg 24-ball 45 by Abdul Samad, we went down fighting against Punjab Kings in a high-scoring Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 clash at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala on Sunday.

Opting to bowl first, our debutant Akash Singh stole the limelight with figures of 2/30, while Digvesh Rathi also bagged two scalps, but the Kings rode on Prabhsimran Singh's 91 off 48 balls, along with contributions from Shreyas Iyer (45), Shashank Singh (33 not out) and Josh Inglis (30) to post 236/5 in their 20 overs.

Later, Badoni slammed his sixth IPL fifty and Samad played a fighting knock, however, it wasn't enough as we fell short by 37 runs.

Akash shines on LSG debut

Debutant Akash Singh provided us with a brilliant start as our young left-arm pacer dismissed Priyansh Arya in the opening over of the game.

Akash continued his excellent spell as he then removed wicketkeeper-batter Josh Inglis to reduce the Kings to 50/2 in the fifth over. The youngster finished his impressive spell with figures of 4-0-30-2.

Digvesh bags crucial breakthrough

Prabhsimran Singh and Shreyas Iyer then added 78 runs for the hosts before our mystery spinner Digvesh Rathi claimed the huge wicket of the opposition skipper in the 13th over.

Prince, Digvesh strike at the death

Later in the 16th over, our speedster Prince Yadav soon joined the party as he shattered Nehal Wadhera’s stumps.

With the score reading 162/4, Shashank Singh joined Prabhsimran at the crease.

Despite best efforts from our bowlers, Prabhsimran and Shashank stitched a 54-run partnership as the Kings went past the 200-run mark.

While Digvesh claimed his second wicket of the match to dismiss Prabhsimran for 91 in the penultimate over, the Kings posted 236/5 in their 20 overs.

A challenging start

Chasing a huge target, Aiden Markram and Mitchell Marsh added 15 runs for the opening wicket before we lost both our openers in the third over. We soon suffered another massive blow as in-form Nicholas Pooran departed in the fifth over.

Captain Rishabh Pant and Ayush Badoni played some scintillating shots to resurrect our innings. Pant and Badoni forged a 31-run stand before our skipper fell for 18.

We lost wickets at crucial intervals as David Miller was dismissed by Azmatullah Omarzai in the 10th over.

Badoni, Samad's belligerent fightback

Batting at No.7, Abdul Samad walked out to bat and joined Badoni at the crease. Samad and Badoni soon hammered Vijaykumar Vyshak for two sixes and two fours to accumulate 21 runs in the 12th over. Our flamboyant pair continued the onslaught as they amassed 16 runs off Yuzvendra Chahal to help us stage an impressive fightback.

Later in the 15th over, Samad clobbered Marcus Stoinis for a four, and followed it with a maximum to rack up 17 runs, which kept us in the hunt.

Tough day in Dharamsala

The incredible 81-run partnership for the sixth wicket later came to an end in the 17th over as Samad fell to Marco Jansen.

At the other end, Badoni slammed Vyshak for a six to register his fifty off just 32 balls. Badoni continued playing some exquisite shots and later departed for a 40-ball 74 in the final over. His magnificent knock was laced with five fours and five maximums.

Badoni's outstanding fifty later went in vain as we fell short by 37 runs in Dharamsala.

With 10 points from 11 games, we are currently placed seventh on the IPL 2025 standings, and will need to win our remaining games to keep our IPL 2025 playoffs hopes alive.

What next for the Super Giants?

We will be heading back home and will lock horns with Royal Challengers Bengaluru at our fortress, the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow, on Friday.

Brief Scores: Punjab Kings 236/5 in 20 overs (Prabhsimran Singh 91, Shreyas Iyer 45; Akash Singh 2/30) beat Lucknow Super Giants 199/7 in 20 overs (Ayush Badoni 74, Abdul Samad 45; Arshdeep Singh 3/16) by 37 runs.