LSG out of playoffs race in IPL; Abhishek, Klaasen guide SRH to six-wicket win

Lucknow: Explosive knocks by Abhishek Sharma and Heinrich Klaasen guided Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) to a six-wicket win over Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at Ekana Stadium on Monday.

LSG are now out of playoffs, with five wins and seven losses. SRH are at the eighth spot, with four wins, seven losses and a no result and have nine points.

While defending 206 runs, LSG were off to a fine start, with Will O'Rourke getting his first-ever IPL wicket thanks to a low catch from Digvesh Rathi, which removed Atharva Taide for 13 in nine balls, with three fours. SRH is 17/1 in 1.4 overs.

In the next over, Abhishek and Kishan shifted back some pressure to the bowlers, with two boundaries and a six. SRH continued their aggressive game, bringing up the 50-run mark in 3.3 overs.

At the end of the powerplay in six overs, SRH was 72/1, with Abhishek Sharma (35*) and Ishan Kishan (17*) unbeaten. In the seventh over, Abhishek smashed Ravi Bishnoi for four sixes. Abhishek reached his second fifty in 18 balls, with four boundaries and five sixes.

LSG got the breakthrough wicket of Abhishek for 59 in 20 balls, with four boundaries and six sixes. Shardul Thakur took a fine catch, giving Digvesh Rathi his first wicket. SRH was 99/2 in 7.3 overs. SRH reached the 100-run mark in 7.4 overs.

At the end of 10 overs, SRH was 120/2, with Heinrich Klaasen (8*) and Ishan (32*) unbeaten. While Klaasen was hitting boundaries, Ishan was dismissed by Rathi for 35 in 28 balls, with three fours and two sixes. SRH was 140/3 in 11.3 overs.

In his final over, Digvesh was hit for three successive fours by Kamindu Mendis. SRH reached the 150-run mark in 13.1 overs. Kamindu and Klaasen formed a solid partnership, taking SRH to the brink of a victory. The duo completed their fifty-run stand in 34 balls. However, Klaasen missed out on his half-century, going back in the hut for 47 in 28 balls, with four boundaries and a six. SRH was 195/4 in 17.3 overs.

SRH reached the 200-run mark in 18 overs and finished the chase at 206/4, with Aniket Verma (5*) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (5*) unbeaten. Digvesh Rathi (2/37) was the pick of the bowlers for LSG.

Earlier, Mitchell Marsh and Aiden Markram's blitzkrieg, along with Nicholas Pooran's finishing touches, powered Lucknow Super Giants to 205/7 against Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Marsh's 65 and Markram's 61 laid the foundation for LSG while Pooran dazzled with his quick-fire 45 to take the Super Giants to a challenging total.

After Hyderabad put Lucknow to bat, Marsh and Markram went all guns blazing with their swashbuckling display. Marsh drew the first blood and opened his account with a boundary on the first ball of the match by pulling off a flashy upper cut.

He topped it up with an 80m maximum off Sunrisers skipper Pat Cummins on the fourth ball of the opening over to mark the beginning of his relentless onslaught. Marsh hammered the ball over long-on off Harsh Dubey in the next over to clear his intentions early.

Markram joined the party in the third over by beautifully driving Cummins' 144 kph delivery to the fence. Markram got a lifeline after Ishan Kishan fluffed his chance to stump him. The South African batter punished the Sunrisers for the missed opportunity by ending the over with a four and a maximum to assert complete dominance in Lucknow's home den.

The hard-hitting opening duo ensured Lucknow remained unscathed as they unleashed a barrage of boundaries to end the powerplay with 69/0. Marsh brought up his fifty after the powerplay, while Markram continued to ride high on his luck after Aniket Verma dropped the chance to have him caught on 38.

With a rollicking opening stand, Lucknow breezed past the 100-run mark in the 9th over as Hyderabad continued to fumble catching opportunities. Marsh gave away a thick outside edge. Kishan got a glove on it but failed to grasp the opportunity as the ball raced away for a four.

Marsh made Hyderabad perish by reeling off back-to-back fours. The towering Australian cushioned the ball back to him, Harshal Patel almost had the last laugh, but the third umpire concluded that the ball had touched the ground.

Harsh Dubey got his maiden IPL scalp and the much-needed breakthrough by luring Marsh (65) to slice it straight into the hands of Eshan Malinga. After the 115-run stand concluded, Lucknow skipper Rishabh Pant's (7) scratchy run with the bat continued as he chipped it back to Malinga, who took a leap and grabbed it with his left hand.

Markram (61) celebrated his fifty, struck a maximum a couple of overs later, and then was cleaned up by a flawlessly executed yorker deprived of pace.

Nicholas Pooran flaunted his brute force and tormented Hyderabad bowlers at one end. In-form Ayush Badoni had a rare, dull outing and returned cheaply on 3(5). Pooran and Abdul Samad took the onus of ending the innings on a high by orchestrating a boundary fest in the final two overs.

Nitish Reddy was handed the responsibility of bowling the final over. Pooran invited him by smoking the ball into the stands for a towering maximum. But Pooran bit the bullet after Kishan had him run out on 45(26).

Brief Scores: LSG: 205/7 (Mitchell Marsh 65, Aiden Markram 61, Nicholas Pooran 45, Eshan Malinga 2/28) lost to SRH: 206/4 in 18.2 overs (Abhishek Sharma 59, Heinrich Klaasen 47, Digvesh Rathi 2/37). | ANI