Fireworks from Nicholas Pooran help Lucknow Super Giants defeat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 7 wickets

It was a crucial match for Sunrisers Hyderabad to stay in the competition but now their chances are dented with this defeat against Lucknow Super Giants. After opting to bat first, Hyderabad posted a handsome total of 182 on the board in their 20 overs.

Anmolpreet Singh and Abhishek Sharma opened the batting for SRH with the latter getting out for just 7 runs. Rahul Tripathi who was giving good support from the other end, also lost his wicket for just 20 runs.

Anmolpreet, however, ensured that the hosts got off to a good start with seven boundaries as he ended up with 36 runs off just 27 balls. Veteran Amit Mishra took a good catch of his own bowling to dismiss the dangerous right-hander.

Aiden Markaram and Glen Phillips were removed from the crease on consecutive deliveries by opposition skipper Krunal Pandya as the skipper scored 28 runs off 20 balls while the Kiwi batter was dismissed for a duck.

Heinrich Klaasen helped SRH reach 182 in the game against LSG

Now, all eyes were on Heinrich Klaasen and the 31-year-old wicket-keeper did not disappoint his team. He scored a magnificent 47 off just 29 balls before losing his wicket to Avesh Khan. Abdul Samad, who was the hero of the game against Rajasthan Royals, contributed well with the bat and scored a decent 37 off 25 balls including four maximums.

Yudhvir Singh Charak, Yash Thakur, Avesh, and Mishra took a wicket apiece while skipper Krunal bowled a brilliant spell of 2/24 in his maximum quota of overs.

Now, it was important for SRH to bowl well and grab their fifth victory but Lucknow had other plans even after they lost Kyle Mayers early. Quinton de Kock tried to hold one end while keeping the run rate ticking but lost his wicket to Mayank Markande after scoring 29 runs off 19 balls.

Prerak Mankad made headlines with his unbeaten knock of 64 runs whereas Marcus Stoinis played a quickfire knock of 40 runs off just 25 balls. The Australian all-rounder’s innings included three sixes and two boundaries.

Abhishek Sharma was the one who helped the Sunrisers get rid of Stoinis after his brilliance. But, it was Nicholas Pooran who became the showstopper in the game as the southpaw was phenomenal with the bat. He hammered 44 runs off only 13 balls to snatch the game away from the hosts.

Pooran remained not out till the end alongside Mankad who also played a handy part. Mankad was awarded the Player of the Match trophy for his contribution throughout. On the bowling front, none of the Sunriseers’ bowlers proved to be fruitful apart from Phillips who picked up a wicket and gave away only 10 runs in his 2 overs.

Now, SRH would be dependent on other teams for their qualification whereas Lucknow Supergiants are one step closer to the playoffs. Pandya’s LSG will now play against Mumbai Indians on Tuesday at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow while SRH will look to regain their form against Gujarat Titans on Monday at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.