IPL: Mohammed Shami, Rishabh Pant help LSG get off the mark

HYDERABAD: Sunrisers Hyderabad’s explosive top order imploded against a disciplined Lucknow Super Giants attack as the hosts began their home leg on a disappointing note, suffering a five-wicket loss at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!SRH’s top three — Abhishek Sharma (0), Travis Head (7) and Ishan Kishan (1) — were back in the dugout inside four overs as the hosts crawled to 22/3 in the powerplay and 35/4 at the halfway mark. Heinrich Klaasen (62 off 41 balls; 5x4, 2x6) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (56 off 33; 3x4, 5x6) then staged a spirited rescue act with a 63-ball 116-run fifth-wicket stand, lifting SRH to 156/9. The total, however, proved inadequate as Lucknow rode on skipper Rishabh Pant’s unbeaten 63 (50b, 9x4) to seal victory with a ball to spare. Lucknow Super Giants reverted to their trusted opening pair of Mitchell Marsh and Aiden Markram, who added 37 for the first wicket before Eshan Malinga dismissed Marsh. Markram (45 off 27; 6x4, 2x6) kept the scoring brisk, taking 15 runs off Jaydev Unadkat in the sixth over to push LSG to 53/1 in the powerplay.Shivang Kumar broke the 40-run second-wicket stand by removing Markram, and SRH briefly clawed back as Harsh Dubey dismissed Ayush Badoni (12) and Nicholas Pooran (1) was run out, raising hopes.Pant, however, steadied the chase with Abdul Samad (16), adding 34 crucial runs. Dubey over, leaving LSG needing 18 off 14 balls. With nine required in the final over, Pant struck consecutive boundaries off Unadkat and finished the game with another four.Earlier, put into bat, SRH endured a disastrous start as Mohammed Shami (2/9) removed Abhishek and Head to reduce them to 8/2, while Prince Yadav bowled Kishan to make it 11/3. Liam Livingstone (14) fell attempting a sweep as SRH limped to 35/4 in 10 overs.Klaasen and Nitish then counterattacked, plundering 79 runs between overs 11 and 15, with Nitish smashing Digvesh Rathi for three sixes in a 22-run over. After both departed in quick succession, SRH lost their last five wickets for just 14 runs.Brief Scores: