Lucknow Super Giants owner Sanjiv Goenka won plenty of admiration after the team’s hard-fought triumph over Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday, stepping onto the field to share a warm hug with skipper Rishabh Pant. The gesture perfectly matched the tone of Pant’s captaincy, with the wicketkeeper-batter delivering under pressure to steer LSG to a dramatic five-wicket win with a ball to spare.
Pant played a calm, match-winning hand as Lucknow chased 157, remaining unbeaten on 68 from 50 balls. Although LSG lost a couple of early wickets and had to navigate a wobble during the chase, Pant anchored the innings with grit and composure, eventually finding the winning boundary with one delivery left in the contest.
After the final whistle, Goenka embraced Pant on the ground, and the pair were later seen exchanging cheerful words together amid the celebrations.
LSG vs SRH: How the match unfolded
- In the IPL 2026 clash at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Sunday, Lucknow chased a target of 157 and began with a comfortable rhythm for much of the innings.
- Sunrisers Hyderabad kept fighting back, pulling the contest into a tense finish by taking key wickets as LSG’s chase tightened.
- With the pressure rising, Pant took charge and steered the chase home, striking the winning boundary with one ball remaining.
- On the penultimate delivery of the match, Pant drove Jaydev Unadkat over mid-off for four, sealing Lucknow’s first win of the season.
- Earlier in the day, Hyderabad managed to recover from an ugly start to finish their innings on 156 for 9.
- After being sent in, SRH were set back early when Mohammed Shami dismissed Abhishek Sharma for a duck before removing Travis Head soon after.
- Prince Yadav then struck to send Ishan Kishan back, leaving Hyderabad reeling at 11/3.
- Further trouble followed as wickets continued to fall, and when Liam Livingstone departed cheaply, the hosts slid to 35/4 at the halfway point.
- Heinrich Klaasen and Nitish Kumar Reddy then orchestrated a stunning recovery, rebuilding carefully before accelerating at the right moments.
- Nitish punished the bowling with a flurry of sixes, while Klaasen consistently found gaps, and the pair put together a remarkable 116-run alliance for the fifth wicket.
- Klaasen scored 62 off 41 balls, while Nitish struck 56 off just 33 deliveries, dragging the innings back into contention.
- As the innings entered the final stages, Lucknow struck quickly as Avesh Khan and others tightened the noose, ensuring Hyderabad couldn’t post an even bigger total.
