Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) skipper Rishabh Pant praised Nicholas Pooran for his explosive batting and credited bowlers Shardul Thakur and Prince Yadav for their match-winning performances after LSG’s five-wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at Uppal Stadium in the IPL 2025 season.
Speaking at the post-match presentation, Pant expressed his relief after the crucial win.
“It is about not getting too high when you win and not about getting too low when you lose. As a team, we can’t focus on uncontrollables. My mentor (Zaheer Khan) said to focus on controllable, and that is what I did. Good to see the way Prince Yadav bowled and also Thakur was really good. (On Pooran batting at No. 3) I think we just want to give freedom to him. You got to give someone the charge when he is batting well and he has batted brilliantly for us. The group is coming up nicely, we have not played our best so far but happy to get a win.”
Match Summary
LSG won the toss and opted to bowl first. Despite early breakthroughs by Shardul Thakur, who reduced SRH to 15/2, the Sunrisers managed to fight back with solid contributions:
- Travis Head – 47 (28)
- Nitish Kumar Reddy – 32 (28)
- Heinrich Klaasen – 26 (17)
- Aniket Varma – 36 (13)
- Pat Cummins – 18 (4)
These efforts pushed SRH to 190/9 in 20 overs. Shardul Thakur was the standout bowler for LSG with 4/34, while Avesh Khan, Prince Yadav, Digvesh Rathi, and Ravi Bishnoi took a wicket each.
During the run chase, LSG lost Aiden Markram early, but a 116-run partnership between:
- Nicholas Pooran – 70 (26) [6 fours, 6 sixes]
- Mitchell Marsh – 52 (31) [7 fours, 2 sixes]
helped them gain control. A quick cameo from Abdul Samad – 22* (8) [2 fours, 2 sixes] ensured that LSG sealed victory with 23 balls to spare.
Top Performers
🏏 Player of the Match: Shardul Thakur (4/34)
💥 Best Batting Performance: Nicholas Pooran (70 in 26 balls)
🔥 Top Bowler (SRH): Pat Cummins (2/29)
With this win, LSG strengthens its position in the IPL 2025 standings, while SRH looks to bounce back in their next fixture.