Fireworks lit up Hyderabad from the opening ball of the season, but this time the headlines belonged to Lucknow Super Giants after a tense chase. In the 2025 curtain-raiser at the same venue, Sunrisers Hyderabad had once posted a stunning 286—yet in this match, their batting top order lost its rhythm early, leaving them with only 35 runs at the halfway stage of their innings. Heinrich Klaasen and Nitish Reddy briefly restored momentum, and Rishabh Pant, promoted as an opener in LSG’s first game, shifted down the order here and still anchored the reply with composure. The result: SRH fell short as LSG finished 160/5 in 19.5 overs, winning by five wickets.
The match in phases
Brief scores: Sunrisers Hyderabad 156/9 in 20 overs (Heinrich Klaasen 62, Nitish Reddy 56; Mohammed Shami 2/9, Prince Yadav 2/34) lost to Lucknow Super Giants 160/5 in 19.5 overs (Rishabh Pant 68*, Aiden Markram 45; Harsh Dubey 2/18) by 5 wickets.
Who won SRH this contest?
Mohammed Shami played a decisive early role, setting the tone during the Powerplay. He struck with swinging deliveries aimed at leg stump to Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma, keeping both under pressure before producing an off-cutter outside the off stump to the Indian opener. The same plan worked again in his next over, where he removed Head to give LSG a strong start.
Shami then delivered a third consecutive Powerplay over, finishing with figures of 3-0-7-2. He was quickly brought back in the ninth over to complete his spell, conceding just two more runs after the return before being taken off. While Shami’s early spells tightened the contest, Pant ensured it was LSG who walked away with the win when it mattered most. He batted deep in the chase and handled the nerves as the equation tightened.
With 9 required off the final over, Pant struck Jaydev Unadkat for two boundaries off the opening pair of balls. After that, the veteran delivered two dot balls, leaving Pant with 1 needed off 2. The captain then cleared the infield to seal the chase and remained unbeaten on 68, guiding LSG to their first-season victory.
A tale of two halves in SRH’s innings
SRH’s innings began with LSG maintaining control even after the Powerplay. Digvesh Rathi dismissed Liam Livingstone, and by the halfway point, the home side had just 35 on the board with four key batters already back in the dressing room. The contest looked set to drift away from SRH, but the innings gradually changed shape.
Heinrich Klaasen and Nitish Reddy took charge and reminded everyone why this batting unit can flip a match. After getting off the mark with a six apiece off Prince Yadav, they became difficult to stop. Klaasen struck four boundaries against Avesh Khan, while Nitish followed up with three sixes off Digvesh. By the close of the 15th over, SRH had recovered to 114/4.
Momentum carried them further as they added 20 more runs in the next two overs, with both batters moving beyond their individual fifties. Even so, SRH would have hoped to push past 175, but LSG responded late with a burst of wickets to slow the finishing surge and keep SRH to 156/9.
How did LSG kickstart the chase?
Lucknow tried Rishabh Pant at the top again, but the approach lasted only one match. In this game, Aiden Markram and Mitchell Marsh were paired together, building on the form they showed last season—when both scored more than 500 runs. Although Harsh Dubey started brightly in the first over, Markram and Marsh struck in the next, taking Nitish for three boundaries to get the chase moving.
Marsh threatened with a pull toward the boundary, but Markram made sure the Powerplay belonged to LSG by smashing Unadkat for a couple of boundaries and a six. Through to the halfway mark, it appeared SRH’s chances were slim as LSG reached 81. The pressure then intensified for the hosts when Pant hit Shivang Kumar for consecutive fours in the 12th over, as the chase looked increasingly out of reach.
How did SRH drag this to the penultimate delivery?
SRH’s comeback began when Dubey and Kumar struck in consecutive overs. They removed Ayush Badoni and Nicholas Pooran, injecting fresh belief into the contest. That made the chase harder for LSG, and SRH also kept things tight by bowling dot balls to quietly raise the required rate.
Pant and Abdul Samad briefly broke the shackles, hitting boundaries in the following two overs. However, Dubey’s final over turned the tide again: he bowled a couple of dots and then dismissed Samad, bringing LSG back under pressure. Harshal Patel then piled on the strain with his over against young Mukul Choudhary. His trademark slower, dipping full tosses proved tough not only to dispatch but also to make contact with for the 21-year-old, with Pant watching from the other end.
In the end, when the target became 9 off 6, Pant took control once more, steering LSG home with the finishing hits that kept SRH at bay.
Where do the teams go from here?
SRH: After a five-day break, Sunrisers Hyderabad will play the 2025 runners-up Punjab Kings in an away fixture.
LSG: Riding high on the confidence from this win, Lucknow will head to Kolkata to face three-time champions KKR on April 9.
