As it happened: Lucknow Super Giants vs Punjab Kings, IPL 2022, Pune

An excellent defence of a small total. Against a hard-hitting batting line-up, you can get blown away in defence of 153 but the LSG attack has been spot on pretty much throughout the game. Mohsin Khan made a quick start, Dushmantha Chameera backed him up, Avesh Khan was on target too, but the story of the night was Krunal Pandya with 4-1-11-2. One of his wickets was the dangerous Bhanuka Rajapaksa. The closing out was clinical by the three quicks. That brings to an end our Live Report for today. We will be here tomorrow. Thanks for joining.

He started the turnaround with the wicket of Liam Livingstone in the middle spell, and has applied near finishing touches at the death with two wickets in the 18th over. Pace at the top, slower balls in the middle, slower bouncers at the end, Mohsin has shown a lot in this spell to impress. He leaves PBKS 37 to get in the last two. Rishi Dhawan is their only hope.

Fifty-one required off the last five, Jonny Bairstow goes for the big shot to a full ball, and the third man is rightly placed fine for the high pace of Dushmantha Chameera. The edge flies to the man, and at 103 for 6, PBKS are only 18% favourites to win.

That's the 14th over, bowled by Krunal Pandya, who ends with figures of 4-1-11-2

Just when it seemed they had broken open the game, PBKS lose Liam Livingstone and Jitesh Sharma in successive overs. Livingstone looks to ramp Mohsin Khan, who had impressed all with his pace. However, he started this spell with a slower ball, and Livingstone gloved it to the keeper. Jitesh falls to lack of turn, lbw past the inside edge on a forward-defensive. And with, with 62 required off40, LSG become the favourites for the first time on our Forecaster.

Liam Livingstone seems to have broken open the game with successive sixes off Ravi Bishnoi. That's the problem with defending: it often takes just one over. PBKS 79% favourites to win with 69 required off the last nine.

This is subtle work. The turn has been small, which has probably got two PBKS batters. First Shikhar Dhawan falls to a big slog to Ravi Bishnoi. Plays it with the turn but the ball turns only a little. Same with Bhnauka Rajapaksa, who looks to work Krunal Pandya to leg but the small turn means he gets a leading edge to cover-point. *It's 58 for 3 in eight overs. PBKS still the favourites to win.

Mayank Agarwal has given PBKS a flying start to the chase with two sixes and two fours in his 18-ball 25, but a superbly timed jump from KL Rahul at mid-off has ended his innings. As usual, Agarwal looked to create room through his innings, and both his sixes came over cover. With the shot that ended his knock, he just got too close to the ball and couldn't get the desired elevation. At 35 for 1 in 4.4 overs, they are 65% favourites to win.

Mohsin Khan, the tall left-arm quick from Uttar Pradesh, has made a fiery start for LSG. Bowling hard lengths, he has allowed no run off the bat in the first over. One bouncer kept flying and swung after passing the wicket, going for four byes. It is a sticky pitch with spongy bounce.

Punjab really struggled for penetration with the ball in the first half of the season but have taken wickets much more consistently in the last week. First, they bowled out Chennai on Monday; then tonight, they took eight to restrict Lucknow to 153. This could be a tight chase, but Punjab will feel as though they are favourites, given the strength of their batting lineup.

"There was a bit of movement up front," Kagiso Rabada tells the host broadcaster. "We bowled really well as a collective and the key was that we got wickets in that middle period to slow them down a lot. I prepare to bowl at any stage of the game. In every game, I bowl at every stage: at the beginning, through the middle and at the end. It was a little bit sticky - that's why we went with hard length during the middle period - but if you apply yourself, you can score runs. I wouldn't say it's flat or that it's extremely tricky for the batters."

Never a dull moment bowling at the death in T20 cricket. Rabada finishes with 4 for 38 after the first two balls of his last over disappear over the ropes, but the last four bring him a wicket - Chameera caught in the deep - and three dots.

LSG have lost four wickets for 11 runs in 2.1 overs. Mayank Agarwal deserves some credit, bringing back his key bowlers KG Rabada and Arshdeep Singh just when Lucknow were looking to accelerate. But as Simon Doull says on air, there has been some "ordinary cricket", with Krunal Pandya and Ayush Badoni particularly culpable for their dismissals, looking for boundaries off Rabada when they had the chance to get themselves set and accelerate against some weaker bowlers at the death.

Jonny Bairstow has had a quiet season for Punjab Kings with the bat and has mainly found himself in the outfield, used as a specialist batter rather than a keeper, with Jitesh Sharma taking the gloves ahead of him.

This is why: he is one of the best boundary-riders in the world, and his bullet throw from the deep square leg boundary finds Deepak Hooda short of his ground at the non-striker's end, thanks to a direct hit on the bounce. Sloppy running, but brilliant work in the deep.

A rare sight in the modern game: Quinton de Kock gets a faint edge behind off Sandeep Sharma and is not given out by the on-field umpire, but walks off regardless. LSG have sent Krunal Pandya in at No. 4 to maintain a left-right partnership to exploit the short boundary.

One of the reasons that Punjab Kings were willing to shell out Rs. 11.5 crore on Liam Livingstone at the auction is that he is a hugely versatile player: he can bat anywhere from No. 1 to 7, bowls legspin and offspin in the same over, and is an excellent fielder.

But he has struggled with the ball this year, leaking over 11 runs per over in IPL 2022 to date. In fact, only two men have a worse economy rate than him this season: Pat Cummins, and his Punjab team-mate Odean Smith.

No sign of Rahul Chahar in the first nine overs of the innings, with Liam Livingstone brought on to bowl his all-sorts in the ninth, the first over of spin. That might be a surprise given Quinton de Kock's perceived weaknesses against spin - perhaps Punjab feel as though de Kock will be able to take Chahar down given their experience playing together at Mumbai Indians? They have never faced once another in a T20, but de Kock has been behind the stumps for much of Chahar's IPL career.

A mixed night for KG Rabada so far. He strikes early to dismiss KL Rahul, nicking him off for 6 in his first over, but was then carted for two sixes by his compatriot Quinton de Kock - including one incredibly clean hit over midwicket, pulling off the front foot.

With de Kock looking to put his foot down in the final over of the powerplay, bowled by Rishi Dhawan, he skewed one up towards short third - but Rabada, running back, put down a tough chance to give him a life on 19.

Kagiso Rabada has bowled 61 balls to Quinton de Kock across their respective T20 careers and never got him out - including 29 balls in the IPL, all of them for Delhi against Mumbai. It'll be interesting to see if Mayank Agarwal uses his strike bowler against de Kock tonight; he can be vulnerable against spin early on, so he may look to use Liam Livingstone early on and give himself some flexibility later in the innings.

That's only the second time they've won the toss this season, and the first since their opening game against Royal Challengers Bangalore. For the 41st time out of 42 in IPL 2022, the captain who wins the toss chooses to bowl.

Avesh Khan returns for LSG, replacing Manish Pandey in their playing XI. That means KL Rahul has eight bowling options available to him - nine including Ayush Badoni, who took his maiden IPL wicket against Mumbai Indians in their last match. Punjab are unchanged.