Pant’s late heroics guide LSG to five-wicket win over SRH in IPL 2026

Mohammed Shami’s early strike burst set the tone as Lucknow Super Giants edged past Sunrisers Hyderabad by five wickets in an IPL showdown on Sunday, with Rishabh Pant closing the chase in the final over to deliver a dramatic finish.

Sunrisers Hyderabad stumble early

1. Sunrisers Hyderabad were sent in to bat and ran into trouble from the start, slumping to 35/4 within the opening ten overs.
2. Shami was the standout performer, producing figures of 4-0-9-2 and striking with 18 dot balls that steadily strangled the scoring rate.
3. He broke the dangerous opening stand by dismissing Abhishek Sharma for 0 and Travis Head for 7, using variation to unsettle both batters.
4. Prince Yadav then struck to remove Ishan Kishan for 1, finishing the early damage with a sharp in-swinging delivery.
5. Liam Livingstone’s struggles at the crease only deepened SRH’s problems, with the innings slipping further to 26/4 at a key early stage.

Heinrich Klaasen and Nitish Kumar Reddy’s recovery

1. After the collapse, Heinrich Klaasen and Nitish Kumar Reddy took control and stitched together a game-changing 116-run stand for the fifth wicket.
2. Once they found their rhythm, the pair accelerated, changing gears after a cautious phase of rebuilding.
3. SRH surged strongly, scoring 79 runs between overs 11 and 15 to shift momentum back in their favour.
4. Klaasen made 62 off 41 and Reddy struck 56 off 33, combining for seven sixes and eight fours to take SRH towards a competitive total.
5. At one point, the innings looked like it could even cross the 180-run mark.

Lucknow strike back at the death

1. Despite SRH’s resurgence, Lucknow Super Giants clawed the match back during the final overs.
2. Manimaran Siddharth ended Reddy’s stay by taking his wicket, cutting short the recovery.
3. Avesh Khan then struck twice in quick succession, removing Klaasen and Harsh Dubey to tighten the finish.
4. Prince Yadav bowled a disciplined final over, conceding only 10 runs as SRH were restricted to 156/9.
5. The total looked slightly below par given how SRH had accelerated in the middle overs.

Rishabh Pant’s controlled chase

1. In reply, Lucknow started positively with Aiden Markram setting the tone early.
2. Markram appeared fluent in the powerplay, racing to 45 before Shivang Kumar dismissed him.
3. Rishabh Pant then anchored the innings, rotating strike intelligently and keeping the chase steady even when his own rhythm wasn’t at its sharpest.
4. Hyderabad regained pressure when Shivang removed Markram, and a run-out of Nicholas Pooran further tilted momentum in SRH’s direction.
5. Harsh Dubey added to Lucknow’s discomfort by dismissing Ayush Badoni, tightening the screws on the chase.
6. When the pursuit began to wobble, Abdul Samad provided a timely boost with a quick cameo, hitting two crucial boundaries to ease the tension.
7. However, Dubey struck again, removing Samad in the 18th over and keeping the match in the balance.
8. A brilliant penultimate over from Harshal Patel, costing just four runs, left Lucknow needing nine off the final over.
9. Pant then took over under pressure: two boundaries off the first two deliveries shifted the equation decisively.
10. With calm finishing, he closed the chase with another four, remaining unbeaten on a hard-fought half-century and steering Lucknow to a thrilling victory.