Cameron Green played at the start of the IPL season like a man weighed down by a massive price tag, but the Australian allrounder is beginning to gradually show why he's worth the big bucks for his Kolkata Knight Riders team.
Green, who's now played robust knocks of 79, 27 and 34 for resurgent KKR over the past nine days, also took the key wicket of Aiden Markram against Lucknow in a tight two-over spell on Sunday, playing a not insignificant allround part in their victory over the Justin Langer-coached strugglers.
Ultimately, though, after his knock that featured three sixes and his impressive 1-12, Green was just a spectator as the most remarkable denouement unfolded in the match which will be remembered not just for delivering a last-ball six to take affairs into overtime but also for then serving up the shortest ever IPL Super Over.
In a frankly astonishing finale, Lucknow, chasing 156 for victory in regulation, needed an unlikely 17 off the last over, but Kartik Tyagi lost his way, gifting up two free hits with high no-balls.
Lucknow then found an unlikely swashbuckling hero in 35-year-old veteran Test quick Mohammed Shami, who clouted the maximum off the last ball which seemed to have left KKR shattered after they'd looked odds in to prevail thanks to Rinku Singh's earlier swashbuckling unbeaten 83.
When Shami smashed Kartik Tyagi's final delivery over long off to force the Super Over, KKR had to win the match all over again, and so they turned to their cunning 37-year-old T20 master Sunil Narine.
He produced what felt like the slowest and most super of Super Overs, bowling fellow West Indian Nicholas Pooran off the first ball, then getting Markram caught in the deep off the third as Lucknow posted 1-2 off just three balls.
"The entire team backed me to bowl โ the Super Over, so I think once everyone โsaid โthe same thing, it was pretty easy," Narine beamed.
He was then able to watch Rinku, who'd been KKR's star all night with his 51-ball fireworks that had included four consecutive sixes and brilliant fielding with four catches, smash a boundary off the first ball to give Kolkata โthe โwin that moves them up to eighth while Lucknow are now bottom after five-straight losses.
"I think we definitely need a break. I think we're going to refresh. There is always pressure," Lucknow skipper Rishabh Pant said a mite gloomily on a day when Australian T20 skipper Mitch Marsh fell for just two for his side.
