Sam Curran takes joint Punjab Kings into top of IPL with thrilling win over Lucknow Super Giants, while Zak Crawley fails to build on early season form with low double scores for Kent
- England stars Sam Curran and Mark Wood faced off in the Indian Premier League on Saturday
- Curran led Lucknow to victory but Wood was awarded the violet cap in the match
- Elsewhere, Zak Crawley fell twice cheaply for Kent in the County Championship
Sam Curran captained the Punjab Kings to a two-goal victory over Lucknow yesterday that propelled his side to joint top spot in the Indian Premier League.
England international Curran, the most expensive player in IPL history at £1.85m, has been leading the Kings in the absence of the ailing Shekhar Dhawan.
The 24-year-old took three for 31 with the ball to restrict the Super Giants to 159 for eight, but was forced into a sweat when fellow England player Mark Wood claimed late tactics to win back the purple cap – the most prolific bowler of the tournament.
Wood’s late double took him past Indian footballer Yuzvendra Chahal and to 11 casualties, and also left the visitors needing seven from the final with No. 10 Kagiso Rabada at the crease.
But Shahrukh Khan finished it off with three balls to go, putting Punjab along with Lucknow, Rajasthan and Gujarat six points clear at the top.
Sam Curran (left) led the Punjab Kings to victory over Mark Woods (right) Lucknow Super Giants, although Wood became the highest loser in IPL 2023 during the match
Mohamed Abbas set up a thrilling final day at The Oval with a six-wicket haul for Hampshire against Surrey
Meanwhile, England Test opener Zak Crawley suffered the ignominy of being dismissed by veteran Chris Rushworth twice in one day as Kent struggled to fend off defeat against Warwickshire at Edgbaston.
Kent’s 268 runs trailed behind, with nine wickets standing, after they were asked to follow on at Birmingham.
Pakistan star Hasan Ali took three first-innings wickets on his home debut while Ashes’ Chris Woakes took two on his first-class debut in 13 months.
Another Pakistani in Muhammad Abbas took six for 54 in what is shaping up to be a final day thriller between champions Surrey and Hampshire at the Kia Oval.
