The last time that these two teams met at Uppal on the outskirts of Hyderabad, the home team chased a target of 166 in just 9.4 overs with an astounding 62 deliveries remaining to set in motion a frenetic wave of adrenalin that pushed them into the playoffs. The result proved a big blow to Lucknow Super Giants’ confidence, and immediately after the match their owner Sanjeev Goenka was seen in animated discussion with former LSG skipper KL Rahul. 

A year on, it was Lucknow’s turn to see off a challenging total in quick time courtesy Nicholas Pooran’s six-laden 70 off 26 put his team on course for an early victory, after Shardul Thakur gave his team the early momentum with two big wickets. Lucknow’s chase lost steam once Pooran and Mitchell Marsh (52) were dismissed, but in the end a cameo innings of 22 not out off eight balls from Abdul Samad finished the job in 16.1 overs. This gives new LSG captain Rishabh Pant his first win. 

Key to this win was LSG keeping Hyderabad’s big bats relatively quiet, even though their intent, down to the skipper Pat Cummins whose cameo of 24 came at a strike-rate of 450, ended up costing them. It can be argued that the deflection off Prince Yadav’s fingers to run out Heinrich Klaasen proved the turning point of the first innings, because the South African looked dangerous. 

As Riyan Parag did in the previous game here a few days ago, so too Rishabh Pant won the toss and put SRH in to bat. Against Rajasthan Royals, SRH piled up 286. In this game, they totaled 190/9 without a single half-century. 

Travis Head, who in the 2024 match at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium smacked eight sixes and eight fours in his 89 not out from 30 balls, this time around was the beneficiary of two dropped catches in the sixth over but did not get past 47. His partner in that manic partnership from last April contributed 75* off 29 balls, but in the rematch has a mere six deliveries which yielded six runs. Fresh off a maiden IPL century in his first game for SRH, Ishan Kishan bagged a golden duck. 

The last time against LSG, Head and Abhishek Sharma scored 107 in the Powerplay. This time, the pair was separated in the third over with 15 runs on the board, as Abhishek swung a short ball from Shardul right into the palms of Pooran at deep midwicket. And as he did on his LSG debut a few days ago, Shardul took two wickets in an over, with Kishan out next ball when he gloved down the legside to Pant. 

Nitish Reddy flicked the hat-trick ball to mid-on for a quick single, getting back on strike Head who proceeded to bunt the next ball past mid-off for four. First ball from Ravi Bishnoi, head was dropped by Pooran at long-on when 35. Had that catch been held, SRH would have been 54/3. Head was then put down by Bishnoi in the same over, when the bowler stuck out his right hand and failed to latch on, but his luck ran out on 47 when he slogged at the seamer Yadav and was bowled. 

The initial revival was subdued by Hyderabad’s standards, before the lower order came out swinging. Reddy was nowhere near fluent and this was epitomized by his mistimed drive back to Prince, who got a touch on the ball to have Klaasen run out at the bowler’s end. 

Aniket Verma’s reputation of being a bit hitter of spin showed itself, with fives sixes flowing off his bat in a 13-ball 36. Cummins swung his first four deliveries for six and then was out on the fifth, thus registering the highest strike-rate for a captain in the IPL (450). Shardul kept his cool in between the big swings to pocket two more wickets, ending the innings with 4/34 to claim the Purple Cap, and later the Player-of-the-Match award. 

Lucknow’s chase was fueled by Pooran and Marsh who drove the score to 77/1 after the Powerplay, with Pooran’s contribution 44 off 16 balls. He wasted no time in signaling his intent to finish the chase in quick time, and the speed with which Pooran swatted sixes was astounding. The West Indian raised his 50 off 18 balls with his sixth six, and a seventh 

rounded off an expensive over from Adam Zampa. 

With Pooran striking the ball so cleanly, Marsh happily played second fiddle. Cummins returned and won an lbw shout to cut off Pooran on 70, 

Marsh collected his second fifty in as many games, and despite a brief wobble from LSG’s middle order the chase was finished thanks to Samad who drove over the offside with authority.