IPL 2023: Live Report - Lucknow Super Giants vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, Lucknow

Super Giants go two in two at home; its their second win in three games. Sunrisers, meanwhile, have now lost two in two. More than the loss, they will be worried about the manner of defeat. On a tricky, two-paced surface where shot-making was seemingly difficult, they've allowed LSG to waltz their way to their 121-run target in just 16 overs.

An attempt to reverse-sweep Rashid has led to Rahul's downfall. The ball spun away from middle and leg to beat Rahul's bat. As plumb as lbws can get. LSG need 8, Rahul's played a solid knock.

And on the back of that dismissal, Rashid has two in two as he foxes debutant Romario Shepherd with a googly. He played for the cut but saw the ball wickedly ripping in to hit the pad. Given out on the field, and ball-tracking confirmed it would've grazed leg stump to have the on-field decision stay.

This has been a chase straight down KL Rahul's alley. Truly an innings that can justify the "strike rates are overrated" quip that keeps cropping up on social media every now and then when he starts slowly in a T20I innings.

Just the one over of frontline spin in the Powerplay with Washington Sundar.

On a slow surface where there's plenty of grip, have the Sunrisers erred? Could they have introduced Adil Rashid early? Did the presence of a left-hander in Kyle Mayers dissuade them in the match-ups game? (Seems very likely).

Bhuvneshwar comes back to bowl the sixth over and gets tonked first ball for six down the ground. LSG have made giant strides into this chase and are reaching a point from where victory could be a mere formality.

Fazalhaq Farooqi has deceived Kyle Mayers with a slower one. He plays inside the line as the ball leaves him to beat the outside edge and kiss the off-stump on the way through to the 'keeper. The only problem is the bails don't light up because the graze is ever-so-slight. It happened the other night too, when David Warner enjoyed a slice of luck against Mohammed Shami.

Farooqi has his man in the next over despite bowling a half-tracker. Mayers has absolutely muscled the pull but is hitting towards the long square boundary and picks out the lone fielder - Mayank Agarwal - at deep square.

LSG 36/1 in the fifth over.

Abdul Samad nails two sixes in the final over off Jaydev Unadkat to give Sunrisers a strong finish. He finishes 21 not out off 10 as Sunrisers end with 121 for 8, definitely 10-15 below par but a fighting total nonetheless.

Unadkat's speeds in that over: 116, 118, 112, 113, 111, 128.8. Five of the six deliveries were cutters bowled into the pitch. Twice, Samad held his shape and then muscled the pull shot over the deep midwicket fence.

Mind you, his magic wasn't just restricted to his leg spin. There was also a superb catch he plucked out at short third man with a full-length dive. The best part wasn't the catch but his 'how the hell did that happen' reaction afterwards.

At 55 for 4 in nine overs, Heinrich Klaasen, named as one of the four subs, was furiously putting his pads on. The idea, or so it seemed, was for Sunrisers to summon an extra batting option as an Impact Player on the face of a batting collapse on a tough pitch.

But because Rahul Tripathi and Washington Sundar have fought through for 8.2 overs, managing to arrest the collapse and keep the innings afloat, there's a possibility Klaasen won't be needed. There's Abdul Samad, their retention, who has come in and smoked the first ball to the boundary. He's got the game to be a finisher, but is yet to prove himself. This is a good opportunity to give the finishing kick.

Superstar in his own right.
An architect of the Bazball revolution
Successful PSL season, massive pay day at the IPL auction.
And he comes in and gets a trial by leg spin in India.

In his first outing, he was out to Yuzvendra Chahal in trying to cut a flipper. Here, Ravi Bishnoi bowled three googlies and then quietly slipped in the variation - traditional leg break - to have Brook stumped as he stepped out expecting the wrong'un.

He made 13 off 21 the other night. 4 off 5 tonight.

Three wickets for Krunal that puts LSG on top. He did Agarwal in the air and off the pitch, got Anmolpreet with his drift and Markram first ball with one that kept low and skidded through. Two of those in one over alone, the eighth of the innings.

Over 7.5
An appeal for lbw and given out. Krunal strikes. Faster one - 98.6kph - on middle and leg. Anmolpreet was looking to work it on the leg side but gets beaten and pinged on the back leg. Just above knee roll. He has once again reviewed it and the ball-tracking shows it was just clipping the leg stump. So it's umpire's call and Anmolpreet will have to walk back. DRS goes against him this time.

Over 5.3

Short from Yash Dayal but keeps low. And given lbw. Anmolpreet has reviewed it, though. Anmolpreet went for the pull but the ball kept low, sneaked underneath the bat and hit him on the back thigh. The only questions is the height. And yes, it was going over the middle stump. So Anmolpreet survives the DRS call upon review.

Remember the India-New Zealand T20I from January this year? New Zealand's 99 for 8 was nearly enough, but for Suryakumar Yadav's last-over magic.

Hardik Pandya termed it a "shocker of a wicket" where spinners bowled 30 of the 40 overs. Gautam Gambhir, who is now in the Super Giants dugout as mentor, termed it "substandard." The curator was sacked in the aftermath.

Not a single six was hit.There was so much assistance that even 'keeper-turned-offie Glenn Phillips bowled four full overs.

In the fourth over here, Jaydev Unadkat, who bowls a plethora of cutters and slow deliveries, is getting the ball to scoot low and roll to the wicketkeeper. The odd ball is stopping on the batters, like it did for Agarwal. Run-making is increasingly looking challenging, and it's important for Sunrisers to quickly judge what a good score is.

You can't go in with a 180 mindset. They have to recalibrate to 135-140 perhaps. Let's see. Sunrisers 33/1 in five.

Mayank Agarwal is an excellent player of spin. When in full flow, he dominates. Loves to chip down and play that signature inside-out stroke or go downtown by getting leg side of the ball to left-arm spin.

Here he's caught in the crease, and opts to drive but Krunal has done in him flight and off the pitch by getting the ball to break away sharply, much of it down to the dryness of this surface. It ends up being a chip to the cover and Agarwal cuts a forlorn figure as he walks back. Sunrisers 21/1 in three overs.

Markram calls correctly, and Sunrisers opt to make first use of a surface that they think will slow down as the game progresses.

South Africa wicketkeeper Heinrich Klaasen gets his Orange Cap. He comes in for Glenn Phillips. Abdul Samad, who was their Impact Player in their chase, starts as does Anmolpreet Singh, who earlier played for the Mumbai Indians. Markram himself comes in for Afghanistan left-arm seamer Fazalhaq Farooqi. They're playing just three overseas players in the XI, with the likelihood of their fourth coming into the game when the bowl.

Super Giants have handed debuts to Naveen ul Haq and Romario Shepherd. That means they've had to make some wholesome changes. Unadkat, who missed the previous game, comes back in as does Amit Mishra, the veteran veggie, for his first game of the season. De Kock sits out and Mayers will open.

Sunrisers Hyderabad: 1 Agarwal, 2 Anmolpreet Singh (wk), 3 Tripathi, 4 Markram, 5 Brook, 6 Washington, 7 Samad, 8 Bhuvneshwar, 9 Natarajan, 10 Umran Malik, 11 Adil Rashid

Lucknow Super Giants: 1 Rahul (capt), 2 Mayers, 3 Hooda, 4 Stoinis, 5 Pooran (wk), 6 Shepherd, 7 Krunal Pandya, 8 Amit Mishra, 9 Yash Thakur, 10 Unadkat, 11 Bishnoi

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