Article by Suvankar Roy
It was a afternoon where the fire of Mohammed Shami’s opening spell met the ice-cool composure of Rishabh Pant. In a high-octane encounter that swung back and forth like a Bollywood thriller, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) finally opened their account in IPL 2026, defeating Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by five wickets on their own turf. The match will be remembered for the record-breaking resilience of the Klaasen-Reddy duo and the masterclass in precision by Shami.
Shami and Prince Leave Sunrisers in Tatters
After winning the toss and electing to field, LSG captain Rishabh Pant’s decision was vindicated in just seven deliveries. Mohammed Shami, steaming in with lethal intent, dismissed Abhishek Sharma in his very first over. He didn’t stop there—on the first ball of his second over, he completely outfoxed Travis Head with a perfect slower ball.
The carnage continued as youngster Prince Yadav produced a dream inswinger that sent Ishan Kishan’s off-stump cartwheeling. A stunned silence fell over the Hyderabad crowd as the home side found themselves reeling at a dismal 26 for 4.
The Great Rescue: Klaasen and Reddy’s Historic Stand
With the team staring down the barrel of a humiliating total, Heinrich Klaasen and Nitish Kumar Reddy took it upon themselves to stage a recovery. At the halfway mark, SRH were crawling at a mere 35 for 4. However, the lull was merely the calm before the storm.
From the 11th over onwards, the pair unleashed a brutal counter-attack, plundering 79 runs in the next five overs. Klaasen (62) and Reddy (56) stitched together a record-breaking 116-run partnership for the fifth wicket. At one stage, a total of 170 seemed inevitable, but LSG’s death bowlers pulled things back brilliantly, restricting SRH to 156 for 9.
The Chase: Markram Sets the Pace, Pant Holds the Fort
Chasing 157, Aiden Markram provided the spark LSG needed, bludgeoning 45 off just 27 balls to keep the required rate under control. However, as the pitch slowed down, stroke-making became a grueling task. Wickets began to tumble in the middle overs—Ayush Badoni and Nicholas Pooran fell cheaply, leaving the match on a knife-edge.
The Pant Finale
The drama escalated to the final over, with LSG needing 9 runs for victory and captain Rishabh Pant on strike. Facing Jaydev Unadkat, Pant showed why he is one of the world’s best finishers. He hammered back-to-back boundaries off the first two balls to level the scores. Despite two nervous dot balls following the flurry, Pant remained unfazed, lofting the fifth ball over mid-off to seal a clinical victory with an unbeaten 68.
Match Summary:
• Sunrisers Hyderabad: 156/9 (Klaasen 62, Reddy 56; Shami 2/9, Prince 1/11)
• Lucknow Super Giants: 160/5 (Pant 68*, Markram 45; Dubey 2/18)
• Result: Lucknow Super Giants won by 5 wickets.