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What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
Lucknow Super Giants (169-7) got the better of Sunrisers Hyderabad (157-9) by 12 runs on Monday in match 12 of the Indian Premier League.
MUMBAI: Lucknow Super Giants (169-7) got the better of Sunrisers Hyderabad (157-9) by 12 runs on Monday in match 12 of the Indian Premier League. Here are the major highlights from the match –
Sundar’s opening spell: Washington Sundar, who often bowls in Powerplay, removed Quinton de Kock and Evin Lewis in his first spell to dent Lucknow. De Kock tried to play an inside-out shot but was caught at covers. Lewis looked utterly perplexed throughout his short stay at the crease and was trapped in front of stumps as he tried to sweep the ball which was too full to play this shot.
Both De Kock and Lewis are explosive batsmen and their early departure was a big setback for Lucknow.
Rahul, Hooda tow Lucknow out: Lucknow were in a spot of bother at 27-3 in 5 overs. After De Kock and Lewis, Manish Pandey also perished cheaply as he chipped Romario Shepherd to mid-on. At that stage, all-rounder Deepak Hooda joined captain KL Rahul at the crease and together they pulled Lucknow out of trouble.
Hooda was in his element as he began to score freely right from the word go. He gathered his first boundary through a well-crafted ramp shot and then unfueled a smashing upper-cut off Umran Malik for a six. After a couple of overs, Shepherd was smoked for a six over deep mid-wicket.
In the 14th over, He hammered a couple of boundaries and a six over long-leg against Malik who was bowling with brute pace. Hooda reached his fifty in just 31 balls but was held out at deep mid-wicket in the 16th over.
Rahul started off with an exquisite square drive off Bhuvneshwar Kumar and batted sensibly by playing second fiddle to Hooda who was on the roll. He nurdled the ball around skillfully and pinched a lot ogf singles and doubles. For the fourth wicket, he and Hooda added 87 runs. Rahul was eventually dismissed for 68 in the 19th over by T Natarajan.
Ayush Badoni smashed 19 runs off 12 balls in death overs to take Lucknow to 169-7 in 20 overs.
Hyderabad’s top-order woes: Hyderabad’s top-order is perhaps the weakest among all the teams in the tournament. On Monday, their top-order batsmen, apart from Rahul Tripathi, once again flattered to deceive. Captain Kane Williamson played a fabulous scoop for a six and a charming cut for a boundary, but was caught soon after at short fine-leg attempting another scoop off Avesh Khan. Abhishek Sharma also departed early playing a tame shot.
Aiden Markram didn’t look at ease during his stay at the crease but nevertheless formed a fine 44-run partnership with Tripathi with the latter making the lion’s share of contribution.
Tripathi, Pooran raise hopes: Tripathi looked assured at the crease and oozed confidence. While he executed conventional shots, such as cuts and flicks off Andrew Tye, with finesse, he also pulled off upper-cut with aplomb. In the 9th over, he swept left-arm spinner Krunal Pandya for a six and raised hopes for a Hyderabad win. However, in a bid to smite another six, he was caught by Ravi Bishnoi at deep mid-wicket for 44.
Pooran smoked a couple of huge sixes – pummelling Pandya over long-on and Avesh over deep square leg – and brought his team close to the victory. In fact, at one stage, Hyderabad needed only 27 runs off 16 balls with Pooran batting at 34. However, he mistimed a low full-toss by Avesh and was caught at long-off. His wicket turned the tide in Lucknow’s favour.
Avesh, the hero: Avesh orchestrated the victory for Lucknow by snapping up 4 wickets for just 24 runs. He prised out Williamson and Abhishek, the openers of Hyderabad, early in the innings, and later got rid of Pooran in the 18th over to change the course of the match. He also claimed the wicket of Samad in the same over to peg Hyderabad back.
Avesh bowled with gusto and deployed variations cannily. His slower-balls at crucial moments also stood him in good stead.
Hyderabad needed 16 runs in the last over but Jason Holder picked up three wickets as Hyderabad could manage only 157-9 in 20 overs and lost the match by 12 runs.
