By Rohit - March 27, 2025 11:24 PMHyderabad, March 27, 2025 – Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) kicked off their IPL 2025 campaign with a sensational 5-wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in a high-octane chase at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. Chasing a formidable 191, LSG were powered by Nicholas Pooran’s explosive 70 off 26 and Mitchell Marsh’s composed 52 off 31, sealing the win with 24 balls to spare.
Earlier, LSG captain Rishabh Pant won the toss and opted to bowl, a decision that seemed spot-on as Shardul Thakur struck early. The pacer dismissed Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan in consecutive deliveries in the third over, leaving SRH reeling. However, Travis Head’s aggressive 47 off 28 kept the hosts in the game.
Despite Prince Yadav cleaning up Head, SRH’s lower order fought back with Aniket Verma (26 off 13) and skipper Pat Cummins (18 off 4) ensuring a competitive total of 190/9. Thakur was the pick of the bowlers, finishing with 4/34, while Adam Zampa proved expensive, leaking 46 runs in his four overs.
LSG’s reply started with intent, and Nicholas Pooran set the tone with a blistering 70 off just 26 balls, tearing into the SRH bowling attack. Mitchell Marsh complemented him with a steady 52 off 31, reaching his fifty in style before falling to Cummins in the 11th over. Despite losing Pant (15 off 15) and Ayush Badoni (6 off 6) in quick succession, LSG stayed on course.
Abdul Samad (10* off 3) and David Miller (4* off 1) applied the finishing touches, with Miller lofting Ishan Kishan over cover for a boundary to seal the win at 189/5 in 16 overs.
With 2 runs needed off 24 balls, Ishan Kishan came into the attack, only for Miller to loft the first ball over cover for four, sparking celebrations in the LSG camp. The victory marked a strong start for Rishabh Pant’s men in IPL 2025, while SRH will look to regroup after a spirited but ultimately losing effort.
LSG’s next challenge awaits, but for now, their fans will savor this thrilling triumph under the Hyderabad lights.
Sunrisers Hyderabad Playing XI: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Heinrich Klaasen(w), Aniket Verma, Abhinav Manohar, Pat Cummins(c), Simarjeet Singh, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Shami
Impact subs SRH: Sachin Baby, Jaydev Unadkat, Zeeshan Ansari, Adam Zampa, Wiaan Mulder
Lucknow Playing XI: Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant(w/c), David Miller, Ayush Badoni, Shardul Thakur, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Digvesh Rathi, Prince Yadav
Impact subs LSG: Shahbaz, Manimaran Siddharth, Mitchell Marsh, Himmat Singh, Akash Maharaj Singh
Pat Cummins: It was a different wicket the other day, but we had to score quickly. They batted really well though. Still a very good wicket, that was the best wicket in the world, this was the second-best wicket. It gripped a little bit, but it was a nice wicket. Every time it's a fresh game, they bowled really well, it was very well planned. It was a pretty good effort to get to 190. You always need one person to bat throughout the innings, like Ishan (Kishan) did the other day, but they bowled really well, never let us off the hook. We got 8 batters, it's about going out there and making an impact. You see things you could have done better, that could have been the difference. It's a long competition, we will get a chance pretty quickly, so we need to move on.
Rishabh Pant: Big relief but as a team we talk about the process. It's not about getting too high when you win and not about getting too low when you low. As a team, we can't focus on uncontrollables, my mentor said focus on controllables and that is what I did. Good to see the way Prince bowled and also Thakur was really good. You got to give someone the charge when he is batting well and batted brilliantly for us. The group is coming up nicely, we haven't played our best so far but happy to get a win.
