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After dominating the Lucknow Super Giants with the new ball for a while, Sunrisers Hyderabad stunned them by scoring 166 in just 9.4 overs, the highest 10-over total in any Twenty20 match. With 14 points from 12 games, the decisive victory moved them up to No. 3 on the points table and provided them with much-needed net run rate support. So vicious was the chase that LSG decided not to use their Impact Player at all.
First, a note regarding the anxiety surrounding the SRH batters. Part of the reason LSG chose to bat first was because of that worry. Subsequently, they encountered Bhuvneshwar, whose unwavering length attracted movement away from the field. Quinton de Kock, who scored 66 off 66 off Bhuvneshwar overall in Twenty20 cricket, was able to muster just 1 off 4 off him, including a close miss and his wicket, which was well collected by Nitish Reddy at deep-square leg.
With 3-0-7-2, Bhuvneshwar put a stop to the powerplay. When you combine that with Shahbaz Ahmed’s 2-0-9-0, LSG’s powerplay of 27 for 2 was their worst of the year.
Legspinner V Viyaskanth, who was making his IPL debut, kept the lid on after the powerplay until Krunal Pandya struck Jaydev Unadkat for the 999th and 1000th sixes of the competition, giving the innings some momentum. The first one was a terrific straight hook over long-on to a slower bouncer at head height. We had no idea that, by the end of the evening, the shot would be forgotten.
KL When the boundaries were not coming in, Krunal was run out by the SRH captain and birthday boy while Rahul, 29 off 33, died attempting to match Pat Cummins’ pace. Moving around in the crease and playing field manipulation, Badoni led the charge and reached a fifty in 28 balls. Towards the end, Pooran joined in, matching Cummins’ and T Natarajan’s speed. Among the fastest bowlers on show, Natarajan and Cummins combined for 97 runs.
It was a sensible enough idea for LSG to try to exploit the slow pitch by giving the two left-hand openers K Gowtham’s offspin. However, with Head and Abhishek, plans don’t really seem to matter. In the opening over, Head removed Gowtham for four, and in the second over, Abhishek dismissed Yash Thakur. Once more, Thakur appeared to be following a sensible bowling strategy: deep-square leg and sweeper cover, bowl into the pitch; but, Abhishek drew him in front of square. He then repositioned the two men on the leg side, and Abhishek carved a space for him to pass through. Plans meant nothing by the time they hit 25 in two overs.
Regardless of the ball’s velocity, length, or field, Head and Abhishek just chose their locations and sent the ball there. In total, the ball made that trip to the boundary approximately every other ball. Abhishek finished with 75 off 28 and Head with 89 off 30. Among all LSG bowlers, Gowtham had the best economy, at 14.50.