Mumbai: Rishabh Pant correctly guessed the coin toss and, adhering to the tradition for which Lucknow is known, chose to invite the opposing team to bat first. Following this, the Lucknow Super Giants demonstrated relentless play against Sunrisers Hyderabad, outplaying them at their own fast-paced style of cricket. The team successfully pursued a target of 191 runs in just 16.1 overs, securing a crucial victory away from home—their maiden triumph of the season.
Nicholas Pooran’s explosive 70 runs off just 26 balls (including 6 fours and 6 sixes), coupled with Mitchell Marsh’s rapid-fire knock of 52 from 31 deliveries (with 7 boundaries and 2 maximums), quieted the enthusiastic Hyderabad spectators who were cheering for Pat Cummins’ team.
The boundary riders weren’t significant to them. We anticipated that the highly aggressive SRH team would still attack from the start. This was evident when Abhishek Sharma attempted to hit over deep square leg off Shardul Thakum’s short delivery. However, this time around, one part of SRH’s formidable left-handed opening pair failed to connect properly and ended up finding one of just two fieldsmen positioned in the deep.
Thakur provided LSG with the fortunate turn of events. As an all-rounder for India, he enters the cricket arena bearing numerous overstated titles – the bowler with the golden arm, the player who consistently takes wickets through sheer skill. Most importantly, he meets expectations repeatedly.
In the following delivery, Thakur dismissed Ishan Kishan, who had scored a century in his previous innings, without adding any runs. The batsman edged the ball fine down the leg side towards the keeper. For the second game running, Thakur claimed quick wickets. Recently added to the LSG team roster to strengthen an already weakened bowling lineup, he concluded his spell with figures of 4 overs, 0 maidens, 34 runs conceded, and 4 wickets taken.
Travis Head maintained his momentum at the opposite end. Due to Thakur’s early wickets, they found themselves at 62/2 with the fielders actively involved. Despite continued aggressive batting, it fell short of their usual rapid pace.
When discussing luck, Head certainly experienced some ups and downs. There were two instances where he nearly got dismissed during the seventh over. It’s rare for Pooran to miss such opportunities, but this time around, the West Indies player fumbled. Following that, Ravi Bishnoi also failed to hold onto a sharply returned catch. During these near-dismissals, with Head at scores of 36 and 42, his chances slipped through fingers again. Ultimately, despite these reprieves, he ended up scoring only 47 runs off 28 balls. His dismissal wasn’t accidental either. LSG’s youthful fast bowler from Delhi, Prince Yadav, displayed remarkable courage as he aimed for a full-length delivery. Unfortunately for Head, he misjudged the ball, leading to an accurate shot from Prince which shattered Head's stumps.
Prince performed admirably (4-0-29-1), consistently targeting the wickets with his moderate pace deliveries, occasionally mixing in some slower balls to maintain uncertainty among the batsmen. His efforts during the middle overs phase slowed down SRH's run rate significantly, bringing it under 10 runs per over for the first time around the 14th-over mark.
Despite losing wickets, we were aware that SRH wouldn't be content just accepting defeat without putting up a fight. By the 15th over at 128/5, Aniket Verma, making his debut in the IPL, continued to swing aggressively and managed to hit four sixes off only eight deliveries from LSG’s spin bowlers – two each off Bishnoi and Digvesh Rathi.
Following his demise, SRH forfeited an additional wicket while chasing rapid scores. With the score at 156/7 in the 16th over and facing potential elimination, how did Pat Cummins react? He smashed three consecutive sixes from the initial three deliveries he encountered.
By adhering strictly to their high-risk strategy throughout, they were able to accumulate multiple innings of over ten runs each, ending up with a total of 190. However, on such a favorable batting pitch, this score proved inadequate.
Find more stories like this by reading additional news articles. Zerica Toease