Lucknow Super Giants defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by 12 runs at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Monday to record their second successive victory in IPL 2022. On Saturday, LSG had defeated defending champions Chennai Super Kings.
Sunrisers Hyderabad were in a strong position at one point with Nicholas Pooran and Washington Sundar in the middle but Avesh Khan struck twice in the 18th over to bring LSG back into the game. It was a remarkable come-from-behind win for LSG who were tottering at 27 for 3 in their 5th over after being asked to bat.
Earlier, Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper Kane Williamson won the toss and decided to field. Lucknow Super Giants found themselves in trouble when they were reduced to 27 for 3 in the 5th over of the innings. However, KL Rahul and Deepak Hooda hit half-centuries and added 87 for the 5th wicket to help LSG post a challenging total.
After losing their opening match to Gujarat Titans, LSG captain KL Rahul had lauded his middle-order. It was clear as Deepak Hooda came to the party with a cracking 51 off 33 while Ayush Badoni scored 19 off 12 balls to help the side finish with 169 for 7 off their overs. Rahul led by example with 68 off 50 balls.
KANE OUT CHEAPLY
Chasing 170, Sunrisers Hyderabad got off to a poor start when skipper Kane Williamson was dismissed by Avesh Khan in his first over. SRH have had issues with their team for sometime now. Last year, the David Warner controversy engulfed the side. In 2022, having released the likes of Warner and Rashid Khan, SRH have looked no better and Williamson has so far only looked a pale shadow of his classy self with the bat.
Avesh Khan inflicted further damage when he removed Abhishek Sharma in his second over thanks to a brilliant catch by Manish Pandey. Avesh almost had Rahul Tripathi caught at gully but it was a difficult chance and a diving Deepak Hooda did well to get his hands on the ball.
RAHUL vs RAHUL
The LSG skipper KL Rahul had led the charge for his team earlier in the evening – later in the night, his namesake Rahul Tripathi led a spirited response for SRH after Avesh Khan had damaged the top-order with two quick wickets. He was aggressive and made the most of a dropped chance to keep the Sunrisers in the hunt for 170.
Krunal Pandya dismissed Aiden Markram to set SRH back again before Nicholas Pooran joined Tripathi in the middle.
SRH SLIP FURTHER
Sunrisers Hyderabad slipped into further trouble when Tripathi fell to Krunal Pandya. The asking rate climbed steeply with Nicholas Pooran and Washington Sundar at the crease. KL Rahul marshalled his resources smartly even as Jason Holder and Andrew Tye leaked runs in a middling chase. Krunal Pandya finished his spell with figures of 2 for 27 to leave SRH in a spin.
AVESH ON FIRE
Avesh Khan was brought back into the attack for his final over with SRH still needing 33 runs off the last 18 balls. Nicholas Pooran pulled him for a six off the first ball but he struck back with the wickets of Pooran and Abdul Samad in back-to-back balls. Romario Shepherd kept a yorker out to deny Avesh a hat-trick but the LSG pacer had impressed with a dream spell and finished with 4 for 24 off his 4 overs, leaving SRH to get 26 runs off the final 2 overs.
At the end, SRH fell short by 12 runs despite being in cruise control. Avesh Khan’s final over of a dream spell proved to be the difference between the two sides in a closely-fought match.
WASHINGTON ROCKS LSG
Soon after Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper Kane Williamson won the toss and decided to field, Washington Sundar struck in his first two overs to remove Lucknow Super Giants opener Quinton de Kock and No.3 Evin Lewis. LSG had suffered a top-order collapse in their opening match of IPL 2022 against Gujarat Titans before bouncing back strongly against defending champions Chennai Super Kings.
Against CSK, KL Rahul and de Kock had added 99 for the first wicket as LSG chased down a big total. On Monday, the IPL newbies were in a spot when Manish Pandey fell to Romario Shepherd after Washington Sundar had snared two of their most dangerous batters.
RAHUL, HOODA ROAR
At 27 for 3, Lucknow Super Giants, needed a gutsy partnership to bail them out of trouble. And in came Deepak Hooda who was not overawed with the situation or the bowling attack. High on confidence after his debut for India earlier this year, Hooda was particularly harsh on Umran Malik. KL Rahul dropped anchor much like he had done for Punjab Kings in previous seasons.
While Rahul was happy to take the backseat, Hooda took the SRH bowling attack head-on and brought up a stylish half-century. He was eventually dismissed for 51 off 33 by Shepherd but not before adding 87 invaluable runs with his captain KL Rahul.
Once Hooda fell, Rahul raced away to his first half-century for LSG and became the 5th Indian after Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Suresh Raina to score 50 fifties in T20 cricket.
Rahul’s stay at the crease ended when T Natarajan dismissed him for a 50-ball 68. The SRH left-arm pacer then dismissed the dangerous Krunal Pandya which brought Jason Holder to the crease alongside Ayush Badoni.
22-year-old Ayush Badoni played another cameo (19 off 12) before being run out on the final ball of the innings as LSG finished with 169 for 7 off their 20 overs.