Rishabh Pant hit an unbeaten 68 as Lucknow Super Giants chased down 157 to defeat Sunrisers Hyderabad in a thrilling IPL 2026 clash.
Lucknow Super Giants' captain Rishabh Pant (PC: IANS)
Captain Rishabh Pant produced a composed, match-winning knock under pressure as Lucknow Super Giants clinched a dramatic five-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in a last-over thriller at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Sunday.
Chasing 157, Lucknow was in control for large parts of the inning before a spirited late comeback from Hyderabad turned the contest into a nail-biter. With nine runs needed off the final over, Pant kept his calm, striking boundaries at crucial moments before sealing the win with a confident drive off Jaydev Unadkat, with one ball to spare. He remained unbeaten on 68, anchoring the chase with maturity.
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🚨 IPL 2026 | Rishabh Pant’s fifty helped Lucknow Super Giants defeat Sunrisers Hyderabad by five wickets on Sunday at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.@IPL | @SunRisers | @LucknowIPL | #SRHvLSG #RishabhPant #IshanKishan #TheStatesman pic.twitter.com/vetLi1MdTf
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— The Statesman (@TheStatesmanLtd) April 5, 2026
Lucknow Super Giants got off to a solid start, with Aiden Markram playing fluently during the powerplay. He raced to 45 before falling to Shivang Kumar, who helped shift momentum briefly in SRH’s favour.
Pant then took charge, guiding the innings with smart strike rotation and calculated aggression. Hyderabad kept striking at key intervals, including a sharp run-out of Nicholas Pooran and the dismissal of Ayush Badoni by Harsh Dubey, to stay in the contest.
With the pressure mounting, Abdul Samad delivered a timely cameo, hitting crucial boundaries before being dismissed in the 18th over. A tight penultimate over from Harshal Patel left Lucknow needing nine off the final six balls.
Pant, however, rose to the occasion. Two early boundaries swung the equation back in Lucknow’s favour before he finished the job in style, ensuring his side crossed the line in 19.5 overs.
Earlier, Hyderabad endured a nightmare start after being put in to bat. Mohammed Shami struck early to dismiss Abhishek Sharma for a duck and followed it up with the wicket of Travis Head, while Prince Yadav removed Ishan Kishan as SRH slumped to 11/3.
The slide continued when Liam Livingstone departed cheaply, leaving the hosts reeling at 35/4 midway through the innings.
A remarkable counterattack, however, changed the course of the innings. Heinrich Klaasen and Nitish Kumar Reddy stitched together a brilliant 116-run partnership for the fifth wicket, rebuilding steadily before shifting gears.
Klaasen struck a composed 62 off 41 balls, while Nitish unleashed an aggressive 56 off 33, peppered with sixes, to lift SRH to a competitive 156/9. Lucknow’s bowlers, led by Shami and Prince, pulled things back at the death to prevent further damage.
Brief Scores:
Sunrisers Hyderabad 156/9 (Heinrich Klaasen 62, Nitish Kumar Reddy 56; Mohammed Shami 2-9) lost to Lucknow Super Giants 160/5 (Rishabh Pant 68*, Aiden Markram 45) by five wickets.
LSG: Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), M. Siddharth, Nicholas Pooran, Abdul Samad, Mukul Choudhary, Avesh Khan, Mohammad Shami, Digvesh Rathi, Prince Yadav
SRH: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan (c & wk), Heinrich Klaasen, Liam Livingstone, Aniket Verma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harsh Dubey, Shivang Kumar, Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat
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