IPL 2023, 10th Match: Lucknow Super Giants 127 for 5 (Rahul 35, Krunal 34, Rashid 2-23) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad 121 for 8 (Tripathi 34, Anmolpreet 31, Krunal 3-18, Mishra 2-23) by five wickets

On a sluggish, low and passing on dark soil surface at the Ekana Cricket Arena, Lucknow Super Monsters’ spinners kept Sunrisers Hyderabad from hurries to set up a five-wicket win.

Aiden Markram won the toss and chose to bat, but his team only managed 121 for 8. Mark Wood (flu) and Avesh Khan (injury) were out for the Super Giants, but Krunal Pandya, Ravi Bishnoi, and Amit Mishra made sure their absence was not felt. In their combined 12 overs, the trio went 6 for 57, with Mayank Agarwal, Anmolpreet Singh, and Markram taking wickets for Krunal.

KL Rahul and Kyle Mayers started off the pursuit by adding 35 in 4.3 overs. Mayers and Deepak Hooda were out in consecutive overs, but Krunal ended the game with a 23-ball 34. The Super Giants still had four overs remaining when Nicholas Pooran hit the winning six.

Impact Player strategy

Markram, Harry Brook, and Adil Rashid started for Sunrisers, giving them the option to use Heinrich Klaasen in the event of a collapse or one of Marco Jansen or Fazalhaq Farooqi to boost their bowling in the second half. At 55 for 4 after nine overs, it appeared that Klaasen would need to be brought in. Even though he was cushioned in the dugout, Sunrisers did not lose another wicket until the 18th over. Farooqi eventually took the place of Rahul Tripathi at the beginning of the chase.

Mishra was replaced by Ayush Badoni by the Super Giants in a more straightforward move after the 19th over of the first innings.

Krunal Pandya’s three-for dents Sunrisers

It became abundantly clear that this pitch was made specifically for spinners shortly after the second seam over. In the third over, Rahul brought on Krunal, and the left-arm spinner had Mayank Agarwal chip one to extra-cover. Anmolpreet Singh and Rahul Tripathi carved out an opportunity to become acclimated to the gradualness of the surface, and afterward hit four fours off every eight balls to take the side to 43 for 1 toward the finish of the powerplay.

However, Krunal dragged them back by throwing out Markram and Anmolpreet at the same time. Anmolpreet was held in place lbw by a faster one, and Markram defeated him in turn. Markram attempted to drive a full ball in his first game of the season, but he was beaten and had his off stump uprooted.

In the following over, the 10th of the innings, Bishnoi set Creek up pleasantly. In the wake of bowling two googlies, he expected Stream’s development down the track and sneaked in a wide leg break. Brook did exactly what the bowler expected, but he didn’t get close to the ball’s pitch and was stumped some distance away.

Sunrisers struggle to break away

The Sunrisers didn’t lose another wicket for the next seven overs thanks to Tripathi and Washington Sundar, but the scoreboard moved at a snail’s pace: from overs 7 to 16, there were only two boundaries. In the 18th over, Tripathi attempted to ram Yash Thakur, but Mishra was unable to clear him, so Mishra took the catch by diving full-length to his left at short third. In the following over, Mishra picked up two himself by tossing the ball to Washington and Rashid, who were caught on the ground. Sunrisers advanced by a run per ball with only Abdul Samad’s unbeaten 21 off 10, which included two sixes off Jaydev Unadkat in the 20th over.

Rahul, Krunal boss the chase

There was some debate about whether Quinton de Kock or Mayers would start the innings alongside Rahul because de Kock was available. However, de Kock was left out of the Super Giants’ batting lineup, surprising many. Even though Mayers was unable to replicate his heroics from the previous two matches, Rahul and Mayers gave the team a positive start.

In the fifth over, Farooqi had Mayers pull one straight to deep square leg, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar took a low, one-handed return catch to his left to send Hooda back from the other end. However, Super Giants benefited from knowing their target.

Krunal joined Rahul at the end of the powerplay, and the two of them picked up a boundary in each of the subsequent five overs without taking much risk. During the 55-run third-wicket stand in 6.2 overs, Krunal was the aggressor, scoring at a strike rate of 147.82. Before Krunal snatched Umran Malik behind, Super Giants reached 100 in the 13th over. After that, Rashid had Rahul and Romario Shepherd lbw off consecutive deliveries, but by that time, the outcome was over.