Mohammad Shami’s sensational opening spell laid the foundation for Lucknow Supergiants’ thrilling five-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad. IPL Clash on Sunday, as Rishabh Pant’s composed finish in the last over sealed the chase.Sunrisers Hyderabad got off to a nightmare start after coming in to bat, collapsing to 35/4 in the first 10 overs. Mohammad Shami was the chief destroyer, returning phenomenal figures of 4-0-9-2, including 18 dot balls that stopped the scoring. The veteran fast bowler removed the dangerous opening pair of Abhishek Sharma (0) and Travis Head (7) with clever variations, while Prince Yadav cleaned out Ishan Kishan (1) with a sharp in-swinger. Liam Livingstone’s struggles at the crease only added to SRH’s woes as they slipped to 26/4 early on.
Classen, the brilliant recovery of the ready script
With the innings at a standstill, Henrik Klaasen and Nitish Kumar Reddy produced a remarkable turnaround. The two put on a crucial fifth-wicket partnership of 116 runs, which changed the momentum dramatically. After a cautious phase, the duo switched gears, launching a counter-attack that saw SRH score 79 runs between 11 and 15 overs. Klaasen (62 off 41) and Reddy (56 off 33) smashed the boundary ropes with seven sixes and eight fours, putting SRH in a competitive position. At one stage, a total of more than 180 looked likely.LSG pull things back on deathHowever, Lucknow Supergiants made a strong comeback in the death overs. Manimaran Siddharth broke the dangerous stand by dismissing Reddy, while Avish Khan struck twice in quick succession to remove Klassen and Harsh Dubey. Prince Yadav then bowled a torrid final over, conceding just 10 runs, as SRH were restricted to 156/9, which looked a bit underwhelming given their mid-innings surge.
Pant anchors chase in final over thriller
In reply, Lucknow Supergiants started positively, with Aiden Markram leading the early charge. The South Africans looked fluent in the powerplay, playing a crisp stroke and scoring 45 runs before the dismissal of young spinner Shivang Kumar.Rishabh Pant then took charge of the chase, opening the innings with smart strike rotation and composure. Although he didn’t have much fluency, the skipper ensured the scoreboard kept moving and held the innings together. Hyderabad found a way back into the contest when Shivang removed Markram, and a quick run out Nicholas Puran Tilted the momentum further in their favor. Harsh Dubey dismissed Ayush Baduni to increase the pressure, tightening the screws on Lucknow.Just when the chase started faltering, Abdul Samad stepped up in time with a sharp cameo, hitting a couple of crucial boundaries to ease the tension. However, SRH continued to fight back, with Dubey striking again to remove Samad in the 18th over. A brilliant closing over from Harshal Patel, conceding just four runs, left Lucknow needing nine off the last over.Pant then stepped up under pressure. Two boundaries off the first two balls dramatically changed the equation before the skipper calmly closed out the game with four more, remaining unbeaten on a brilliant half-century to guide Lucknow to a thrilling victory.See also: RCB vs CSK Live Score
