Hyderabad (Telangana)[India], May 13 : Nicholas Pooran's blistering unbeaten knock of 44(13)* turned out to be the defining moment of the match, as the Lucknow Super Giants clinched a seven-wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 match at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Saturday.
The 16th over was the highlight of the match as Pooran struck three consecutive sixes in Abhishek Sharma's over to change the course of the game. Marcus Stoinis struck two consecutive sixes on the first two balls but ended up losing his wicket on the third ball. Pooran carried the momentum and gathered 30 runs in 6 balls to bring LSG back into the game.
Abhishek Sharma was the perfect match for Pooran as the West Indian batter is known for his ability to score boundaries for fun against spinners. Having survived a chance, he managed to strike the ball cleanly on every single opportunity. He adapted to the situation and reacted accordingly in the 13 balls he ended up facing.
"We spoke about adapting, we knew we could target that one over from spin, it was right up to my match-up and thankfully it came off well (on the 31-run over from Abhishek), I did enjoy my batting. It's important to target that 6th bowler, it's a batter's game, no risk, no reward, you have to work on the match-ups. I've played enough international cricket to know how to deal with situations, I expected the bowlers to bowl yorkers and slower balls and was ready for it. Even in T20I cricket, I'd like to bat longer," Pooran said after the match.
SRH had full control over the game but Pooran and Mankad neutralised the threat with their sublime batting skills.
With LSG needing 108 off 48 balls and the required run rate climbing above 13, Mankad and Stoinis stepped up scoring as they took 14 of Farooqi over and then Mankad smacked a six and a four of Markande to make it 28 in two overs.
Stoinis continued to deal in sixes as he smacked three more including two of Abhishek Sharma but the SRH all-rounder bounced back to have him caught at long off for 40(25).
Pooran arrived at the crease next and took off with three sixes in a row to finish a roller-coaster over as LSG accumulated 31 of the over to bring the equation down to 38 of 24 balls.
T Natarajan started the 17th over well giving away just four of the first four balls but Mankad finished the over with a six and a four to bring the equation down to 24 of 18 balls.
LSG again finished another over well as Pooran cracked back-to-back fours off Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who, until then, had conceded just two runs off the first four balls. With 14 needed of 12, Natarajan again started off well, giving away just three singles of the first four balls.
However, Pooran thumped a muscular pull over deep mid-wicket for a six to make it a 10-run over.
With four needed off the final over, Pooran heaved the first ball to deep mid-wicket off Farooqi, with Phillips putting in a brilliant dive and saving 2 runs for his team.
However, with just 2 needed off the last ball, Pooran flicked the next one wide through the short fine-leg region for a four to cap off yet another pulsating last-over finish in the tournament.
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