Lucknow, Apr 4 (UNI) A blazing half-century from Mitchell Marsh set the tone for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), who posted a competitive 203 for 8 in their 20 overs against Mumbai Indians (MI) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match here on Friday.

Opening the innings after being put in to bat at the Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Stadium, Marsh unleashed a brutal assault on the MI bowlers, hammering 60 off just 31 deliveries with 9 fours and 2 sixes, before being dismissed by Vignesh Puthur in the sixth over. His innings laid the foundation for what turned into a strong total.

Aiden Markram (53 off 38) continued the momentum through the middle overs, stitching together vital stands with Nicholas Pooran (12 off 6) and Ayush Badoni (30 off 19). However, LSG suffered a mini-collapse as captain Rishabh Pant fell cheaply for 2, triggering a middle-order slide.

Hardik Pandya, leading MI, delivered a standout bowling performance with figures of 5 for 36, dismantling the middle order and claiming the key wickets of Markram, Pooran, Pant and Miller.

Despite the setbacks, a late cameo from David Miller (27 off 14), useful blows from Shardul Thakur and and Abdul Samad powered LSG past the 200-run mark.

Among MI’s bowlers, Pandya was the most successful, while Vignesh Puthur (1/31), Trent Boult (1/28) and Ashwani Kumar (/39) chipped in with one wicket apiece. Mitchell Santner and Deepak Chahar remained wicketless but bowled economically.

Mumbai now face a challenging target of 204 as they look to maintain their winning rhythm in the tournament. UNI BDN SSP