On a flat deck, put in to bat, Lucknow Super Giants sent Kolkata Knight Riders on a leather hunt.
Mitch Marsh and Aiden Markram got stuck into KKR's bowlers as they went on the attack. They put on a 99-run stand off just 10.2 overs.
Marsh and Pooran continued the onslaught. There was no let up from the duo and KKR bowlers had no respite.
While Harshit Rana picked up Markram and Abdul Samad's wickets -- he had figures of 2 for 51 in his 4 overs -- the damage was done and LSG posted a massive 238 for 3 in their 20 overs.
With a batting line-up that goes deep, KKR were always in the hunt.
Opener Quinton de Kock got off the blocks quickly and made his intentions clear with two towering sixes.
But seamer Akash Deep had other plans. Even though he was smashed for 16 runs in the opening over, he showed some real mettle in his next over.
De Kock flicked his poor first ball over the leg side for a six but Deep had the last laugh.
LSG burnt a review when Rishabh Pant appealed for a caught behind off De Kock but the ball had gone past his outside edge.
Akash Deep came back with a solid reposte. He bowled a full ball on the leg side, de Kock swung across the line, the ball beat his inside edge and hit him thud on the back pad. This time the bowler confidently tells Pant to review and what a review it turned out to be as ball tracking showed the balll was hitting the batter in line of the stumps.
Deep was wayward and sprayed the ball to concede 7 wides. With the KKR batters unrelenting he too was given the treatment as Ajinkya Rahane and Sunil Narine smashed him for 5 boundaries in the next 8 balls.
At this point, credit should be given to Rishabh Pant for rotating the bowling well.
He brought back Akash Deep only in the 16th over when KKR were struggling at 173 for 5.
With 66 needed off 30 balls it was anyone's game as a well-set Venkatesh Iyer is no mean threat and with Andre Russell at the other end, KKR can never be written off.
Deep was welcomed back for his final spell with a four over extra cover.
Deep then came back next ball to bowl a full delivery angling in, only for Iyer to get a leading edge and Markram finishing a catch calmly at long on.
Deep was bought for 9 crores (Rs 90 million) at the auction and although he got clobbered around, the owners would be satisfied with his two wicket haul that ended KKR's fight.
LSG's opening bowler Shardul Thakur also came in for some hammering from the batters. He gave 30 runs in his first two overs. Pant's frustrations grew as his pacers could not stem the flow of runs.
Digvesh Rathi removed Narine in the 7th over but Venkatesh Iyer and Ajinkya Rahane kept the momentum going.
They found boundaries and sixes every over to have LSG under pressure. Rahane got to his 50 and an over later the duo brought up a 50-run stand.
Pant recalled Thakur into the attack for over No 13 and as is the want with anything related to that number, Thakur's third over was one strange chain of events.
90 runs were needed from 48 balls at the start of the over when Thakur bowled 5 consecutive wides.
Rahane then took a single and hit a streaky four off a top edge before taking a couple to mid-wicket.
Just when it seemed like Rahane would stay till the end, he perished off a full toss!
Thakur bowled a poor ball, Rahane played it straight to cover to walk back for a soft dismissal.
The 33 year old was summoned back four overs later and with Russell and Rinku at the crease, Thakur had a task to keep the runs low as KKR needed 54 off 24 balls.
But luck was with Thakur in his 100th IPL match -- he bowled another full toss, Russell mishit it towards long-off where David Miller dived forward and completed a sharp catch.
Russell's wicket was a much needed one for LSG and the match could have gone the other way had he not been dismissed.
Thakur bowled 8 full tosses, conceded 9 runs and took 2 wickets.
It's early days and Thakur's season has seen him enjoy mixed fortunes, His figures of 2 for 52 were lucky breakthroughs but he is a great wicket-taking option.
And the team that is desperate for wins will take this any day.
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