NICHOLAS POORAN scored 70 off 26 balls as Lucknow Super Giants chased down 191 to beat Sunrisers Hyderabad on Thursday, securing their first win of the new IPL season.
Pooran’s innings included six fours and six sixes as he took on the Hyderabad bowlers on a flat pitch.
Lucknow, led by India's Rishabh Pant, lost Aiden Markram early before Mitchell Marsh (52) and Pooran added 116 for the second wicket in just over seven overs.
Pooran was dismissed lbw by Australia captain Pat Cummins, with Lucknow at 120-2 in the ninth over.
Pant, who came in after Pooran’s dismissal, scored 15 off 15 balls before being caught off a full toss from Harshal Patel. Marsh had already departed after being dismissed by Cummins.
Lucknow lost Ayush Badoni cheaply, but Abdul Samad’s unbeaten 22 off eight deliveries took them to victory with 23 balls to spare.
Earlier, after winning the toss, Lucknow restricted Hyderabad to 190-9 despite a quick 47 from Travis Head at the top of the order.
Shardul Thakur, who was brought in as an injury replacement after going unsold in the auction, finished with 4-34, his best IPL figures. He dismissed Abhishek Sharma (6) and Ishan Kishan (0) off consecutive deliveries in the third over.
Head rebuilt the innings after Hyderabad slipped to 15-2 before Prince Yadav bowled him with a quick delivery.
Several Hyderabad batsmen made starts but could not convert them into big scores. Nitish Kumar Reddy scored 32, while Aniket Verma hit 36 after Heinrich Klaasen (17) was run out at the non-striker’s end.
As Yadav attempted a return catch off Reddy, the ball deflected onto the stumps, catching Klaasen out of his crease.
Cummins hit three sixes in an 18-run cameo, but Hyderabad fell short, suffering their first loss of the season.
Pant said the win was “definitely a big relief.”
“We don’t want to get too high after winning and too low after losing, taking it one match at a time,” he said.
He praised Pooran’s performance, adding, “We just want to give freedom to him. I like that freedom too. But we’ve just told him to go express himself and he’s batting phenomenally for us.”
(With inputs from AFP)
