Fizz ordinary at death as Chennai fail to defend 211 against Lucknow 

Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman failed to defend 17 runs in the final over in an ordinary outing against Lucknow Super Giants in the Indian Premier League as the five-time winners succumbed to a six-wicket defeat at the Chidambaram Stadium on Tuesday.

The left-arm pacer conceded 51 runs in 3.3 overs and bowled a dismal last over where he gave away three fours and a six, having also dished out a no-ball which allowed Lucknow to chase down a 211-run target with three balls to spare. 

Mustafizur started well in his favoured venue as he picked up the important wicket of Lucknow skipper KL Rahul in his very first over, giving away just four runs. Rahul had managed to pin down Chennai with a blistering 53-ball 82 in their last meeting on Friday. He came back to bowl the 15th over where he gave away 13 runs. 

His death-over partner Matheesha Pathirana bowled an excellent 17th over as he gave away just seven runs, also taking the wicket of dangerman Nicolas Pooran but Fizz struggled to keep a lid on things in the next over as he was taken for 15 runs, including two sixes. Pathirana conceded the same number of runs in the penultimate over before Fizz was picked apart by centurion Marcus Stoinis in the final over. 

Stoinis stood tall and turned the match on its head with a match-winning unbeaten 63-ball 124 leaced with 13 maximums and 13 boundaries. The right-handed Australia all-rounder motored the run chase with a 70-run partnership with Nicholas Pooran, who hit 34 off 15 balls, and an unbeaten 65-run stand with Deepak Hooda (17 not out off six balls) after the Rahul-led side were struggling at three down for 88 after 11 overs. 

It was Stoinis' first IPL century and his second in T20 cricket, trumping an unbeaten 108 by Chennai skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad.

"Tough pill to swallow, but a good game of cricket," said Gaikwad. "LSG played really well in the back end. We had the game in control till 13-14 overs, but Stoinis played a great innings."

Stoinis walked in in the first over after Quinton de Kock's departure for a duck and paced his innings to perfection. It was the highest score by a batsman while chasing in the IPL.

Hooda said Stoinis "played like a warrior, he is a kind of motivation to us".