IPL 2023: Marcus Stoinis to undergo scans after hurting his finger during match against PBKS in Mohali

In the match against Punjab Kings, star Lucknow Super Giants all-rounder Marcus Stoinis was in terrific form with the bat, as the 33-year-old smashed 72 runs off just 40 deliveries. With the ball, he dismissed Shikhar Dhawan in the first over of the second innings itself and thus, courtesy of his all-rounder masterclass, the Australia international was adjudged Player of the Match after Lucknow defeated Punjab by 56 runs in Mohali. However, there are some concerns regarding Stoinis’ availability in the upcoming games.

During the second over of his bowling spell, when the cricketer tried to intercept Atharva Taide’s shot, he took a blow to his left index finger. Consequently, the Aussie left the field immediately. He seemed to be in a lot of pain as he went down to his knee and was calling for medical help. Meanwhile, after the match got over, Stoinis revealed that his finger feels better but will undergo scans later on.

“It's been better but yeah, it is what it is. We will get a scan later,” Stoinis said in the post-match presentation.

Notably, his 89-run partnership with Ayush Badoni completely changed the game in LSG’s favour as the visiting team posted a massive total of 257 runs - the second-highest in the history of the Indian Premier League. Revealing their conversation in the middle, Stoinis stated that they were not thinking of scoring 250 and just played their natural cricket. The Aussie cricketer also talked about the contrast in pitch as the surface in Lucknow is quite slow, unlike the one in Mohali.

Stoinis and Badoni's fiery partnership throttled LSG to a record-setting score

During the post-match presentation, Stoinis revealed that both the batters were just focussing on stitching a good partnership which eventually made the difference in the game against PBKS. Moreover, he also said that he was joking with the youngster Ayush Badoni regarding the batting paradise the Mohali pitch was when compared with their home ground. And so wanted to take advantage to go all guns blazing.

“We were joking about the difference between that and our surface at home, and how we can cash in and take advantage of this beautiful batting wicket," the Australian all-rounder said.

“No, I wasn't [thinking about 250]. I don't think Ayush was either. We were just trying to build a partnership. He got off to a flyer as well and was hitting some nice shots; he's a very talented player. We were just trying to keep building on that and that was our only focus,” Stoinis added.

Meanwhile, with the massive win, Lucknow now moved to number two in the IPL Points Table while Punjab remained at number six position.