Nicholas Pooran smashed his first three balls for six and finished unbeaten on 44 from a mere 13 balls to clinch a remarkable, seven-wicket victory for the Lucknow Super Giants in their IPL match against home side Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Hyderabad on Saturday afternoon.
Replying to Sunrisers’ 182-6 the visitors overcame a painfully slow start in which opener Kyle Mayers made two runs from 14 balls to win with four balls to spare despite needing 92 from the final seven overs.
The game took a dramatic turn in the 16th over when Marcus Stoinis struck left-arm spinner Abhishek Sharma (3-0-42-1) for two sixes before heaving a full-toss to long on but his replacement at the crease, Trinidadian Pooran, hit the remaining three balls for legside sixes to take 31 from the over.
Australian Stoinis, having laboured to 12 from his first 13 balls, departed for 40 from 25 balls having struck two fours and three sixes. His sudden explosion and Pooran’s fiery start reduced the asking rate from 13 per over to just eight with 24 required from the final three overs.
Prerak Mankad anchored the run-chase with an unbeaten 64 from 45 balls (7x4, 2x6) but Pooran’s extraordinary hitting earned him three fours and four sixes and two precious points for his team.
That winning feeling! ??
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 13, 2023
A superb chase from @LucknowIPL ????#TATAIPL | #SRHvLSG pic.twitter.com/xWHS0yy6sQ
INCENSED KLAASEN
Earlier Heinrich Klaasen continued his rich vein of form to lead the Sunrisers to a competitive total with 47 from 29 balls with a trio of fours and sixes but his momentum and concentration were both obviously affected by an astonishing call from third umpire, Yeshwant Barde, to over-rule an on-field call for a full-toss no ball from Avesh Khan.
Replays showed the ball to be closer to the batter’s chest than waist but Barde, bizarrely, said it was a legitimate delivery. An incensed Klaasen smashed another full-toss to long on two balls after a lengthy delay.
Abhishek Sharma (7) and Rahul Tripathi (20) were both caught by Quinton de Kock off the seamers before opener Anmolpreet Singh (36 off 27 balls) punched a drive off the back against legspinner Amit Mishra straight back to the bowler.
Lucknow captain and left-arm spinner, Krunal Pandya, produced two magnificent, wicket-taking deliveries in the 13th over to reduce the innings to a wobbly 115-5. Pandya finished with 2-24.
Opposite number Aiden Markram finally looked on the verge of a significant innings after a bleak run of form but a delivery spun sharply from leg stump into the gloves of De Kock who completed a straightforward stumping. Markram’s 28 came from 20 balls with two fours and a six.
Pandy’s next delivery was even better to right-handed New Zealander Glenn Phillips (0), again spinning from leg stump to hit the top of off.
But Klaasen found a willing ally in Abdul Samad (37* from 25 balls, 1x4, 2x6) and they added 58 for the sixth wicket.
The Sunrisers are now almost certainly eliminated from playoff contention while the Super Giants move above the Rajasthan Royals into fourth place.
For his impactful match-winning cameo with the bat, @nicholas_47 becomes our ?? performer from the second innings of the #SRHvLSG clash ????????
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 13, 2023
A look at his batting summary ?? #TATAIPL pic.twitter.com/D6WW0c3ZjV
SUNRISERS HYDERABAD: Abhishek Sharma, Anmolpreet Singh, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram(c), Heinrich Klaasen(w), Glenn Phillips, Abdul Samad, T Natarajan, Mayank Markande, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Fazalhaq Farooqi
LUCKNOW SUPER GIANTS: Quinton de Kock(w), Kyle Mayers, Krunal Pandya(c), Prerak Mankad, Marcus Stoinis, Nicholas Pooran, Amit Mishra, Yash Thakur, Ravi Bishnoi, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Avesh Khan