LSG batter slams 70 of 26 balls in a sensational onslaught, Marsh chips in with 51 to lead their side to a five-wicket win
Hyderabad: Sunrisers Hyderabad got a taste of its own medicine! The deafening silence in the stands with West Indian Nicholas Pooran on song said it all as Lucknow Super Giants pulled off an impressive, five-wicket win in the IPL league match at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium here on Thursday.
Pooran put on show the typical Caribbean flair with a sensational onslaught (70, 26b, 6×4, 6×6) after LSG lost opener Aiden Markram (1) in the second over.
The way he started square-driving to the fence, hitting two huge sixes in one over of pacer Simarjeet Singh showed Pooran’s intent very early. That even someone like the hard-hitting Mitchell Marsh had to play second fiddle was a tribute to the West Indian’s brilliance with the bat.
With Marsh and Pooran putting on 100 for the second wicket in just 41 balls, it soon turned out to be a no-contest. Cummins raised hopes for the home team by first trapping Pooran lbw and then forcing Marsh (56, 31b, 7×4, 2×6) to hit one straight to long-on in the 11th over. But by then the damage was already done and soon former Sunrisers player Abdul Samad (22 n.o., 8b, 2z4, 2×6) delivered some lusty blows to ensure there were no more twists to LSG chase.
Earlier, Sunrisers, put into bat, saw pacer and ‘player of the match’ Shardul Thakur striking twice in the third over. Southpaw Abhishek Sharma (6, 6b, 1×4) pulled straight to the fielder at deep square-leg and of the next ball had centurion in the previous match, Ishan Khan, snicking one on leg-stump to wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant for a first-ball duck to make it 15 for two.
But, Travis Head was batting in another zone. The two huge sixes in the fourth over – one over mid-wicket and the other over covers – off pacer, Avesh Khan were a combination of his range, timing and brute power. But, soon pacer Prince Yadav cleaned up Head (47, 28b, 5×4, 3×6) with his third ball and in the eighth over of the innings after the batter
was earlier dropped on 35 off leggie Ravi Bishnoi. Prince was impressive with his clever change of pace and widish length.
Later, in his attempt to latch on to a hard-hit chance in his follow-through from Nitish Kumar Reddy, Prince ended up in deflecting the ball on to the stumps, leaving the dangerous Heinrich Klaasen (26, 17b, 2×4, 1×6) stranded at the non-striker’s end in the 12th over.
Handy contributions from Nitish Kumar Reddy (32, 28b, 2×4), six-hitting Aniket Verma (36, 13b, 5×6) and captain Pat Cummins’ late assault (18, 4b, 3×6) propped the home team total.
