Marcus Stoinis and Nicholas Pooran provided the pyrotechnics in the slog overs, alongside Prerak Mankad’s unbeaten 45-ball 64, as Lucknow Super Giants got back to winning ways with an ultimately comfortable seven-wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad. Here are the takeaways from the game.
Pooran’s blitz
It was a box-office display of bravado from Pooran as he cracked a jaw-dropping 13-ball 44 to take Lucknow to a memorable win. Although Stoinis had propped up Lucknow’s innings with a slew of shots, Lucknow still needed someone to hit top gear in the end overs. With 56 needed off 28 balls, Pooran duly targeted Abhishek Sharma, clubbing the left-arm spinner for three straight sixes in an over that cost 31. He also took on Bhuvsneshwar Kumar with cracking cut shots, and provided the finishing touches with a glance through fine leg. Pooran’s splendid innings also brought a smile on Gautam Gambhir’s face in the dug-out.
Stoinis and Mankad lay the platform
At 54 for 2, in the ninth over, Lucknow were in a spot of bother. With the required run-rate climbing all the time, Stoinis and Mankad took the attack to the opposition with lofts, pulls and slogs. When needed, Mankad also came down the track to nullify the threat of Mayank Markande. Eventually, Markande finished with figures of none for 39 from three overs, while Abhishek took 1 from 42 from three overs.
Krunal Pandya chips in
Krunal Pandya, the Lucknow skipper, also made his presence felt by scalping a couple of batters and ending with fine figures of 2 for 24 from his quota of four overs. He bowled quicker through the air and used the little bit of assistance on offer to his advantage. In the 13th over, he got one to turn sharply to beat Aiden Markram, the Hyderabad captain, all ends up, as he was stumped. In the same over, he castled Glenn Phillips with the one that again turned sharply.
Samad-Klaasen duet props up Hyderabad
The batting duo shared an alliance of 58 in just over six overs to steer Hyderabad to a competitive total. In the 16th over, Klaasen employed the pull stroke to collect a couple of sixes off Amit Mishra. The pair also took on Avesh Khan to provide some impetus to Hyderabad’s innings. Although Avesh had the last laugh as he dismissed Samad with a low full toss.
No-ball controversy
In the same over that Samad was dismissed, Avesh had bowled a high full toss. It seemed clear that it was above waist high and as a result, the on-field umpire ruled it as a no-ball. However, Lucknow reviewed the decision and for some reason the third umpire decided to overturn the initial call. Not surprisingly, Samad was miffed by the call. To make matters worse, there was some crowd trouble in relation to the Lucknow dug-out. Soon, Andy Flower was seen having a chat with the umpires. Fortunately, the game resumed.