IPL 2025: Pooran’s explosive 70 guides LSG to thrilling victory over SRH

Shardul Thakur’s brilliant bowling and Nicholas Pooran’s explosive batting guided Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) to a dominant win over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) encounter on Thursday.

LSG won the toss and opted to field first, a decision that quickly paid off as Thakur struck early. He removed Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan in consecutive deliveries, leaving SRH in deep trouble at 15 for 2.

Travis Head and Nitish Kumar Reddy then steadied the innings with a solid partnership, taking the score to 76 before Head fell to Prince Yadav, caught for 47 off 28 balls.

Reddy and Heinrich Klaasen fought back, taking SRH past the century mark. However, both soon lost their wickets, with Klaasen falling victim to an unfortunate run-out as Reddy’s shot deflected the ball onto the stumps.

Reddy played a steady knock, scoring 32 off 28 balls, but his attempt to handle Ravi Bishnoi’s googly saw his stumps rattled, leaving SRH at 128 for 5.

At this point, Ankit Verma took control, smashing a quickfire 36 off 13 balls, including five sixes. He was joined by captain Pat Cummins, whose brief but blistering cameo of three consecutive sixes lifted the total to 190 for 9 at the close of their innings.

Thakur was the standout bowler for LSG, taking four wickets, while the others shared one wicket each.

LSG’s chase got off to a rocky start when Mohammad Shami dismissed Aiden Markram for just one. However, Pooran quickly turned the tide.

The West Indian batsman launched an aggressive 116-run partnership with Australian Mitchell Marsh off just 43 balls, taking LSG to 100 in the eighth over.

After Pooran hammered all the SRH bowlers, the captain decided to bring himself back into the attack. The decision paid off quickly as Pooran was trapped in front of the wicket and dismissed for 70 off 26 balls, including six sixes.

Marsh, too, contributed with a blistering 52 off 31 balls but was sent home caught by his fellow countryman, leaving SRH with a glimmer of hope.

SRH managed to pick a couple of crucial wickets, including Ayush Badoni, who was dismissed thanks to an outstanding catch by Harshal Patel. They then sent Rishabh Pant packing.

However, SRH’s brief success was short-lived as Abdul Samad, with a blazing 22 off just 8 balls, ensured that LSG reached their target with 23 balls to spare, securing a thrilling 5-wicket win