Some of the most well-known players in the squad were added by Sunrisers Hyderabad, but neither their performance nor the outcome was altered.
On Friday, Sunrisers Hyderabad (121/8) suffered their second loss of the year at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium when they were defeated by Lucknow Super Giants (127/5) by a margin of five wickets.
It soon became clear that SRH would not test Lucknow’s batting with a low score as they continued to lose wickets at regular intervals.
There weren’t enough runs; an attempt to reach 150–160 was made. We lost too many wickets and there was no forward movement. We were willing to fight even though we knew it wouldn’t be a great wicket to bat on historically. According to the circumstances, they bowled brilliantly.
The SRH captain, Aiden Markram, praised his team’s bowlers for their effort. “We didn’t give them enough runs to play with, but they fought hard,” he said.
“The Punjab Kings are in great shape” – Aiden Markram
In the first innings, SRH could only score 121/8 runs in 20 overs.
The modest 122-run target was quickly chased down by the Lucknow Super Giants, who got off to a fast start under the leadership of KL Rahul and Kyle Mayers.
With the help of a dismissal of Mayers for 13 from 14 balls and the loss of LSG’s first wicket for 35. Afghan pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi, Sunrisers were able to retake the lead.
The hosts lost their second wicket for 45 runs in six overs when Bhuvneshwar Kumar caught and bowled Deepak Hooda in the following over for 7.
When it appeared that Lucknow would easily reach the target. Umran Malik ended their 55-run partnership by dismissing Krunal Pandya for 34 from 23 balls.
Adil Rashid dealt the hosts Lucknow a two-for-one blow. Romario Shepherd was dismissed for a golden duck and KL Rahul leg-before-wicket for 35 to leave them at 114/5 with only 8 required to win. When Nicholas Pooran went on to score the winning runs, Sunrisers Hyderabad realized it was too little, too late.
On Sunday at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Punjab Kings will square off. Sunrisers will have a difficult time overpowering Punjab given their current form if they want to claim their first victory in the IPL 2023.
“Again, different conditions; the team has already played there. The Punjab Kings are in great shape, but Sunday is your chance to knock them off course,” Markram said.
Get the latest cricket news here, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram for more such updates.