The action returned in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 on Friday, with Lucknow Super Giants hosting the Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Ekana Sports City. Both teams are entering the game against the backdrop of defeats. While Rajasthan Royals outplayed Sunrisers by 72 runs, Lucknow were beaten by Chennai on their trip to South India by 12 runs.
The Sunrisers won the toss and elected to bat first, a decision they soon came to regret. The visitors could only manage 121 runs for the loss of eight wickets in their quota of 20 overs. Opener Anmolpreet Singh scored 31 off 26, and Rahul Tripathi scored 34 off 41. A final flourish by Abdul Samad 21 off 10 took the Sunrisers to 121 at the end of 20 overs.
Krunal Pandya remained the star for LSG with a four-wicket haul and 34 runs
For the Lucknow Super Giants, Krunal Pandya remained the pick of the bowlers returning with three wickets in his four overs whilst conceding just 18 runs. Amit Mishra had two scalps in the game from his four overs whilst remaining economical, conceding just 23 runs. Yash Thakur and Ravi Bishnoi returned with one wicket apiece.
In reply, Lucknow made a meal out of the chase but lost five wickets on the way. Skipper KL Rahul scored 35 off 31, while Krunal Pandya scored 34 off 23 to round off a brilliant allrounder’s performance. For Hyderabad, Adil Rashid remained the pick of the bowlers returning with two wickets for 23 runs in three overs. Umran Malik, Fazalhaq Farooqi and Bhuvneshwar Kumar returned with one wicket apiece as they lost the game by five wickets.
Next, in the sixteenth edition of the Indian Premier League, a doubleheader will take place on Saturday. In the day’s first game, Rajasthan Royals are set to host Delhi Capitals in their second home, Guwahati. The Capitals have not yet won a game in this year’s edition. On the other hand, the Royals lost their last match against Punjab at Guwahati. In the second game, a long-standing rivalry returns between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians.
Here’s how fans reacted to LSG’s all-round display:
I'm watching cricket since 1991 but never saw a better captain than KL Rahul
— UjjWAL (@_ujjW4L_) April 7, 2023
Boring match just like Ropig batting
— A.S (@AyushSi82590648) April 7, 2023
Test match chalu ho gaya bey
— Cricket Fan 07 (@Manas_pr_sharma) April 7, 2023
Steyn to Umran:
Line length gaya bhaag mein, tu bas Fastttt daal pic.twitter.com/TMRpnGK1Fj
— CriCat (@CriCat77) April 7, 2023
It’s a win of @krunalpandya24 ?#LSGvsSRH #CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/hFVEeygMpT
— Identical-twins shalusandhya ? (@shalukuk) April 7, 2023
Adil Rashid takes wicket of KL
John and Mufa pic.twitter.com/mKjpotZ48N
— CriCat (@CriCat77) April 7, 2023
Men in Orange get defeated in UP, ok! pic.twitter.com/UScpVODdn6
— Ana de Armas stan (@abhithecomic) April 7, 2023
— CrickHub (@Crickhub07) April 7, 2023
