NEW DELHI: First, it was Shardul Thakur who rattled Sunrisers Hyderabad with a sensational spell, grabbing four wickets, including the prized scalp of Ishan Kishan for a golden duck. Then, Nicholas Pooran unleashed his brute power, launching a relentless assault with the bat to propel Lucknow Super Giants to their first victory of the Indian Premier League 2025. Led by Rishabh Pant, LSG secured a commanding five-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Thursday.
Opting to bowl first, LSG were off to a perfect start, thanks to the brilliance of Shardul. The experienced pacer wreaked havoc early, dismissing Abhishek Sharma and Kishan off consecutive deliveries in the third over.
Kishan, SRH’s centurion from the previous game, was dismissed for a golden duck, putting the home side on the back foot.
Despite an aggressive counterattack from Travis Head, who smashed a 28-ball 47, Thakur’s relentless bowling kept SRH in check. He later returned to dismiss Abhinav Manohar and Mohammed Shami, finishing with figures of 4/34 in his four overs.
LSG’s young bowlers, Prince Yadav and Digvesh Rathi, also made valuable contributions, with Yadav removing the dangerous Head and Rathi dismissing the hard-hitting Aniket Verma.
SRH skipper Pat Cummins provided some late fireworks with an 18-run cameo off four balls, but LSG’s bowlers ensured that SRH did not breach the 200-run mark.
Chasing 191, LSG had a shaky start as Aiden Markram fell cheaply to Mohammed Shami.
However, what followed was sheer carnage.
Pooran came out all guns blazing, dismantling the SRH bowling attack with breathtaking stroke play. The left-hander unleashed a relentless assault, smashing seven fours and six towering sixes en route to a 26-ball 70.
Mitchell Marsh (52 off 31) provided strong support, while Rishabh Pant (15 off 15) ensured LSG remained in control.
Despite Cummins dismissing Pooran and Harshal Patel removing Pant, David Miller’s unbeaten 13 and Abdul Samad’s 22 sealed the win for the away side — with 23 balls to spare.
LSG will next face Punjab Kings on Tuesday at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow.
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