Pant, Shami get LSG off the mark

In a nutshell

Fireworks were the order of the day when SRH were sent in to bat in the very first game in Hyderabad this season. In the 2025 opener in Hyderabad, they ended up posting a breathtaking 286. This time though, only 35 runs came in the first half of the innings as the famed top order failed collectively. Nitish Reddy and Heinrich Klaasen did give a reminder of what this batting unit is renowned for but the initial damage ultimately affected the final result. Rishabh Pant, who had promoted himself as the opener in LSG's first game, moved down a slot this time and anchored the chase to perfection with SRH making a contest out of it.

The match in phases

Brief scores: Sunrisers Hyderabad 156/9 in 20 overs (Heinrich Klaasen 62, Nitish Reddy 56; Mohammed Shami 2/9, Prince Yadav 2/34) lost to Lucknow Super Giants 160/5 in 19.5 overs (Rishabh Pant 68*, Aiden Markram 45; Harsh Dubey 2/18) by 5 wickets.

Who won SRH this contest?

The veteran Mohammed Shami set this one up during the Powerplay. He bowled five full deliveries swinging in at leg stump to both Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma to keep them quiet before bowling an offcutter outside the offstump to the Indian opener. It was a technique he used to get rid of Head as well in his following over to give LSG a terrific start. Shami bowled a third straight over in the Powerplay and his figures read 3-0-7-2 and was brought back immediately in the ninth over to finish quota. He responded by conceding just two more runs before being subbed out.

If it was all about Shami to begin the contest, Pant was the architect behind LSG's maiden win of the season right at the end of the chase. The skipper batted deep in the chase and saw through some nervy moments. Needing 9 off the last over, Pant hit Jaydev Unadkat for two boundaries off the first two balls before the veteran bowler delivered two dots. With 1 needed off 2, Pant cleared the infield to get the job done, remaining unbeaten on 68.

A tale of two halves in SRH's innings

Going back to the first innings, LSG continued their grip on the contest even after the Powerplay when Digvesh Rathi saw the back of Liam Livingstone. At the halfway mark, SRH had only 35 on the board with four key players already back in the pavilion. However, the contest gradually witnessed a shift as Heinrich Klaasen and Nitish Reddy put on a show, rekindling past memories. After smashing a six each off Prince Yadav to get going, the two batters were simply unstoppable. Klaasen found the boundary four times against Avesh Khan and and Nitish followed it up with three sixes off Digvesh. By the end of the 15th over, SRH had set themselves up at 114/4. Another 20 runs were added in the next two overs with both batters going past their respective fifties. From thereon, SRH would have fancied their chances of breaching 175 but LSG fought back again right at the end with a flurry of wickets to apply the brakes and finish the innings on a strong note again.

How did LSG kickstart the chase?

The experiment to open with Pant lasted just one game and rightfully so. With both Aiden Markram and Mitchell Marsh scoring over 500 runs each last season, they were paired up again. Even though Harsh Dubey made a positive start in the first over, Markram and Marsh combined to take down Nitish for three boundaries in the following over to get the chase rolling. Marsh then pulled one straight to the fielder at the boundary but Markram ensured the Powerplay was theirs as he clubbed Unadkat for a couple of boundaries and a six. At least until the halfway mark, the doors appeared to be closed as LSG knocked off 81 runs. When Pant hit Shivang Kumar for back-to-back boundaries in the 12th over, the writing appeared to be on the wall for the home side.

How did SRH drag this to the penultimate delivery?

It all started when Dubey and Kumar struck in consecutive overs to remove Ayush Badoni and the dangerous Nicholas Pooran, breathing life into the contest. That did build some pressure on the chasing side, with SRH also bowling dot balls to quietly push the required rate up. While Pant and Abdul Samad broke the shackles with a couple of boundaries each in the next two overs, Dubey's final over proved to be crucial where he bowled a couple of dots before removing Samad. It was then the turn of Harshal Patel to pile on the pressure on young Mukul Choudhary. The indipping full tosses that he is famous for proved to be difficult to not just put away but also to connect for the 21-year-old with Pant watching at the other end. In the end, when it came to 9 off 6, Pant took charge again and got his side home.

Where do the teams go from here?

SRH: After a five-day break, SRH will take on the 2025 runners-up Punjab Kings in an away fixture.

LSG: With confidence gained from this win. LSG will travel to Kolkata to face the three-time champions KKR on April 9.