New Delhi: Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by five wickets, bagging their first win of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Thursday. LSG found their match-winners in a returning Shardul Thakur and power-hitter Nicholas Pooran, who propelled his side towards the 191-run target with ease.
Seam-bowling all-rounder Thakur picked up a four-wicket haul, also claiming the Player of the Match (POTM) award after his figures of 4 for 34 helped restrict SRH to 190/9. During the presentation ceremony after the match, he was critical of the Uppal pitch saying bowlers get very little on these ones and suggested that it should be made to help both batters and the bowlers.
Thakur notably went unsold at the mega-auction for the 2025 season and joined LSG only after Mohsin Khan was ruled out due to an injury. “I had made my plans. I also planned to play county cricket if I was not picked in the IPL. Zaheer Khan had called me when I was playing in the Ranji Trophy, and he told me that you may be called in as a potential replacement, so don’t switch yourself off. If you are called in as a replacement, you are likely to start,” Thakur said.
In his opening spell in the game, he claimed the wickets of Abhishek Sharma (6) and Ishan Kishan (0) in consecutive balls. “Of course, some swing and what we have seen is that Travis Head and Abhishek like to take their chances, so let me take my chances as well,” the 33-year-old said.
Nicholas Pooran’s 26-ball 70
During the run-chase, Pooran slammed six sixes and six fours in his 26-ball innings to score 70 runs at a destructive strike rate of 269.23. Post-match, he said that he never worked on his bat speed but is blessed with incredible talent. “I don’t plan to hit sixes, but I try my best to get into good positions and try to time the ball. When the match-up is there, you try to execute your skills,” Pooran said.
The Caribbean found the wicket beautiful saying that it was a good toss to win and that if you don’t lose wickets in the powerplay, you can go hard. “I have never worked on my bat-speed, just blessed with incredible talent,” Pooran added.
Shardul Thakur and Nicholas Pooran proved match-winners for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) as they returned to winning ways in Hyderabad on Thursday. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
