Images from the IPL 2023 match between Lucknow Super Giants and Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, in Lucknow, on Friday.
Krunal Pandya's superb all-round showing helped Lucknow Super Giants notch a comprehensive five-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2023 match in Lucknow on Friday.
Krunal produced a superb spell of 3/18 with the ball to restrict SRH to a below-par 121/8 before he contributed 34 off 23 deliveries with the bat to help LSG chase down the target with 24 balls to spare in a low-scoring match.
He stitched 55 runs with captain K L Rahul (35) for the third wicket to take the game away from the SRH's reach.
Rahul hit four fours during his 31-ball knock while Krunal's innings was studded with four boundaries and one maximum.
Rahul and Romario Shepherd (0) perished off successive deliveries, dismissed by Adil Rashid (2/23) in the 15th over but it didn't have any effect on LSG.
Experienced pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar conceded 13 runs in the first over of LSG's run chase, giving away five wides and Rahul hitting a four.
Rahul found the boundaries against Washington Sundar and Aiden Makram but lost his opening partner Kyle Mayers (13) in the fourth over bowled by Fazalhaq Farooqi who came in as SRH's impact player in place of Rahul Tripathi.
Bhuvneshwar made amends of his expensive first over, scalping the wicket of Deepak Hooda (7), caught and bowled, to reduce LSG to 45/2.
Former SRH player Nicholas Pooran completed the victory in grand style as he flicked pacer Thangarasu Natarjan for a six over square leg as the hosts cantered home with four overs to spare.
Earlier, Krunal shone with the ball with three quick strikes as Lucknow Super Giants restricted Sunrisers Hyderabad to 121/8.
Krunal registered splendid figures of 3/18, including 15 dots ball. He scalped the wickets of Mayank Agarwal (8), Anmolpreet Singh (31) and captain Aiden Makram (0) -- the last two dismissals from successive balls in the eighth over -- to leave SRH reeling on 50/3 in the eighth over.
Agarwal went for a drive only to hit straight to Marcus Stoinis in the third over to give LSG their first wicket. Five overs later, he trapped well-set batter Anmolpreet leg before wicket before bowling Makram off the next to spoil the South African's first outing as SRH captain.
Playing his first match of IPL 2023, SRH's new skipper Markram went for a drive in the first ball he faced but it spun away to disturb his off stump.
Ravi Bishnoi then removed Harry Brook, stumped by Nicholas Pooran for 3 as SRH slipped to 55/4.
Veteran leg-spinner Amit Mishra produced a fine spell of 2/23 before he was substituted by Impact Player Ayush Badoni in the 19th over.
LSG skipper KL Rahul's ploy to introduce spin in the third over in the form of Krunal on a difficult wicket having variable bounce paid off.
From 43/1 after the Powerplay, SRH slipped to 63/4 at the halfway stage.
Rahul Tripathi (34) played a lone hand in the second half of the innings as he stitched a 39-run stand -- the highest partnership for SRH -- with Washington Sundar (16), before he fell in the 18th over off the bowling of Yash Thakur.
Abdul Samad hit two sixes in the final over bowled by Jaydev Unadkat to take the SRH score past 120.
