IPL 2023: K L Rahul and Krunal Pandya Dominate as Lucknow Triumphs over Sunrisers Hyderabad
Lucknow Super Giants secured a comfortable five-wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium on Friday. Captain K L Rahul and left-arm spin all-rounder Krunal Pandya’s 55-run partnership off 38 balls for the third wicket was the highlight of the match.
Krunal’s impressive three-wicket haul and disciplined bowling performance helped restrict Hyderabad to a modest 121/8 on a sluggish black soil pitch. Lucknow cruised to 35/0 in the first four overs of their chase, with K L Rahul’s solid drives and flicks contributing three fours, and Kyle Mayers enjoying some luck with two boundaries.
Fazalhaq Farooqui got Hyderabad their first breakthrough as Mayers pulled straight to deep square leg in the fifth over. Deepak Hooda hit Bhuvneshwar Kumar for a six down the ground in the last over of Power-play, but Bhuvneshwar got Hooda’s wicket with a caught-and-bowled dismissal.
Post Power-play, K L Rahul punched Adil Rashid through deep cover, followed by Krunal driving Aiden Markram sweetly through extra cover. Krunal used his feet well to launch Rashid over long-on for six, before driving and pulling off T. Natarajan and Umran Malik for boundaries.
Krunal fell on the first ball of the 13th over while attempting to cut and gave an outside edge to keeper Anmolpreet Singh. Marcus Stoinis hit boundaries off fast bowlers through fine leg and down the ground to bring Lucknow closer to victory. However, K L Rahul fell in the 15th over, trapped lbw while going for a reverse sweep on a leg-break off Rashid.
In the end, Nicholas Pooran swept Rashid for four and finished off the innings with a six launched over square leg off Natarajan. Lucknow Super Giants chased down the target with four overs to spare, finishing at 127/5 in 16 overs. Adil Rashid was the pick of the Hyderabad bowlers, with figures of 2-23.
Lucknow Super Giants won the match by five wickets after successfully chasing down Sunrisers Hyderabad’s target of 122 runs. Hyderabad posted a score of 121/8 in their allotted 20 overs, with Rahul Tripathi scoring 34 runs and Anmolpreet Singh contributing 31. Lucknow’s Krunal Pandya took three wickets for 18 runs, while Amit Mishra took two wickets for 23 runs.
In response, Lucknow Super Giants finished at 127/5 in 16 overs, with KL Rahul scoring 35 runs and Krunal Pandya contributing 34 runs. Adil Rashid was the most successful bowler for Hyderabad, taking two wickets for 23 runs, while Fazalhaq Farooqui took one wicket for 13 runs.