New Delhi: Lucknow Super Giants needed a responsible knock from skipper Rishabh Pant to notch up their first win of IPL 2026 with a five-wicket win over
Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday.
Mohammed Shami’s (2/9) fiery opening spell restricted SRH to 156 for nine after LSG won the toss and elected to bat but it needed a 68 not out from Pant to ensure that they chase down the relatively gettable target in the last over.
LSG won in the penultimate ball to spare but tension was palpable as with nine to get off the last over, Pant struck boundaries of the first two deliveries from Jaydev Unadkat to calm nerves.
LSG now have a win and a loss in two matches while SRH lost two of their three matches in the tournament.
Pant took 50 balls for his unbeaten knock that included nine boundaries, displaying a lot of maturity to pace his innings as per the demands of his team.
Aiden Markram (47 off 25, 6×4, 2×6) had looked at ease at the top of the order but once he fell in the 10th over with the score at 77 for two, SRH dried up the runs through regular breakthroughs.
LSG never feel off their run chase but couldn’t race to their target either Mitchell Marsh (14), Ayush Badoni (12) and Abdul Samad (16) couldn’t build on their starts.
It needed the reassuring presence of Pant for LSG to pull off the run chase and heave a sigh off the relief as they are underway in the tournament after their first win.
Earlier, a disciplined bowling effort limited the formidable SRH batting line-up’s run-plundering effort as Heinrich Klaasen (62 off 41 balls) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (56 off 33 balls) shared a 116-run stand for the fifth wicket to put a fighting total on board.
Brief Scores:
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 156 for 9 in 20 overs (Heinrich Klaasen 62, Nitish Kumar Reddy 56; Mohammed Shami 2/9, Avesh Khan 2/36, Manimaran Siddharth 1/29).
Lucknow Super Giants: 160 for 5 in 19.5 overs. (R Pant 68 not out, A Markram 45; Harsh Dubey 2/18).
