Lucknow Super Giants defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by five wickets in Match 10 of the Indian Premier League 2026 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Sunday, April 5. Lucknow Super Giants chased down a target of 157 with one ball remaining, posting 160 for 5 from 19.5 overs to claim their first victory of the 2026 season. Rishabh Pant, the Lucknow Super Giants captain and wicketkeeper, anchored the innings with an unbeaten 68 from 50 balls and finished the match with a boundary off Jaydev Unadkat in the final over. Mohammed Shami, the Lucknow Super Giants pace bowler, was named Player of the Match for an opening spell of 2 for 9 from four overs that reduced Sunrisers Hyderabad to 11 for 3 within the first four overs.
How did Lucknow Super Giants bowl out the Sunrisers Hyderabad top order for just 11 runs in four overs?
Lucknow Super Giants captain Rishabh Pant won the toss and elected to field in an afternoon encounter under overcast conditions at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. Mohammed Shami was handed the new ball and immediately exploited the cloud cover and the early morning pitch conditions. Shami dismissed Sunrisers Hyderabad opener Abhishek Sharma for a two-ball duck in the first over, with a slower delivery outside off stump drawing an edge that was held by Manimaran Siddharth at short third. The wicket was notable given Shami’s history with Sunrisers Hyderabad, the franchise from which he had moved during the Indian Premier League 2025 player retention and auction cycle before joining Lucknow Super Giants.
Travis Head, the Australian opener who has been one of the most destructive batters in recent Indian Premier League seasons, fell for 7 in the 2.1st over. Shami bowled a short-of-length delivery angled across Head at just 121 kilometres per hour, and Head lost grip of the bat handle attempting a forward push, popping the ball to Aiden Markram at mid-off, who completed a diving catch. Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Ishan Kishan lasted just four balls before Prince Yadav, the Lucknow Super Giants right-arm pacer, bowled him with a delivery that shaped back sharply into the stumps. Sunrisers Hyderabad were 11 for 3 in 3.3 overs.
Liam Livingstone, the England all-rounder, survived the hat-trick delivery from Prince Yadav but fell for 14 in the 7.1st over. Digvesh Singh Rathi drew Livingstone into an early commitment to a paddle sweep, and Rishabh Pant completed a one-handed catch behind the stumps after changing direction mid-air. Sunrisers Hyderabad were 26 for 4, and the team that had famously posted 266 runs on this ground in the 2025 Indian Premier League season had been reduced to the lowest midway score by any side in the 2026 season to that point.
What role did the Heinrich Klaasen and Nitish Kumar Reddy partnership play in Sunrisers Hyderabad reaching 156?
From 26 for 4, a collapse toward one of the lowest totals in Indian Premier League history appeared probable. Heinrich Klaasen and Nitish Kumar Reddy averted that outcome through a fifth-wicket partnership of 116 runs from approximately 70 deliveries, the largest partnership of the match and one of the key performances across either innings. Klaasen scored 62 from 41 balls, hitting five fours and two sixes, playing a more measured role in the early stages of the partnership before accelerating in the death overs. Nitish Reddy scored 56 from 33 balls and struck five sixes. The partnership shifted gears markedly from the 14th over onward, with the pair scoring 61 runs from the 14th through the 17th overs.
Manimaran Siddharth ended the partnership in the 17.4th over by dismissing Nitish Reddy, caught at long-off attempting a lofted drive. Avesh Khan removed Klaasen in the 18.1st over for 62, caught by Rishabh Pant behind the stumps as Klaasen attempted a reverse scoop. Within the next two deliveries, Harsh Dubey was bowled by Avesh Khan for a golden duck. Sunrisers Hyderabad, who had been positioned at 142 for 4 and appeared likely to reach 180, collapsed to 156 for 9, losing five wickets for 22 runs across the final three overs. A run-out from the final ball of the innings completed the Sunrisers Hyderabad slide. Mohammed Shami returned 2 for 9, Avesh Khan 2 for 36, and Prince Yadav 2 for 34, with every Lucknow Super Giants bowler who bowled claiming at least one wicket.
How did Rishabh Pant’s batting approach determine the outcome of the Lucknow Super Giants chase of 157?
Lucknow Super Giants opened with Mitchell Marsh and Aiden Markram. Marsh was dismissed in the 4.4th over for 14, caught at deep square leg by Eshan Malinga off his own bowling after mistiming a pull shot against a ball with considerable bounce and seam movement. Markram played an aggressive supporting role, reaching 37 by the end of the powerplay as Lucknow Super Giants posted 53 for 1 from six overs. Shivang Kumar removed Markram for 45 from 27 balls in the 9.2nd over, with Liam Livingstone completing the catch on the long-off boundary after Markram mistimed a loft against a wrong-un. The dismissal ended a partnership of 40 runs between Markram and Rishabh Pant.
Impact substitute Ayush Badoni, who entered the innings in place of Mohammed Shami, was stumped for 12 in the 12.1st over off Harsh Dubey, dismissed by Ishan Kishan. Nicholas Pooran was run out for 1 in the 13.1st over in a manner that brought Sunrisers Hyderabad back into contention: Pooran played a tentative probe and set off for a non-existent run, and Ishan Kishan broke the stumps from under his gloves without any difficulty. Lucknow Super Giants stood at 108 for 4 needing 49 from 36 balls, and Sunrisers Hyderabad continued to apply pressure through the bowling of Harsh Dubey, Shivang Kumar, and Jaydev Unadkat in the final stages.
Abdul Samad fell in the 17.4th over for a contribution recorded in the scorecard, caught at deep extra cover off Harsh Dubey attempting a step-hit off a full delivery outside off stump. Lucknow Super Giants needed 18 runs from the final 14 deliveries. Rishabh Pant, who had played a controlled rather than explosive role across the bulk of his innings, struck two boundaries from the penultimate over to narrow the equation further. Jaydev Unadkat bowled the final over with nine runs required. Pant struck the first two deliveries through the off side and through the covers for four each, and Lucknow Super Giants reached 160 for 5 off the fifth ball of the over with a final boundary that sealed the result. Sunrisers Hyderabad took a wicket from the last ball via run-out, but the chase had already been completed.
What does Lucknow Super Giants’ first win of the IPL 2026 season mean for their campaign and the points table?
The result gave Lucknow Super Giants their first two points of the Indian Premier League 2026 campaign after losing their opening two matches of the season. Prior to this fixture, Lucknow Super Giants had suffered a defeat against Delhi Capitals in their first game and had been winless through two rounds. The five-wicket margin, secured with one ball to spare, represented the narrowest of winning margins and reflected the competitive nature of both squads across all departments of the game. Sunrisers Hyderabad, who had recovered from a loss to Royal Challengers Bengaluru in their opening match of the season with a 65-run victory over Kolkata Knight Riders in their second game, fell to two wins and one loss following this defeat.
Rishabh Pant’s post-match comments focused on the contribution of the bowling unit and acknowledged that the batting lineup would require further consistency. The Player of the Match award went to Mohammed Shami, whose opening spell of 2 for 9 was described in multiple reports as demonstrating the value of defensive T20 bowling, specifically the use of slower deliveries and varied pace in early powerplay conditions rather than outright pace or swing.
Ishan Kishan, reflecting on the Sunrisers Hyderabad performance, said the team acknowledged it needed to work on its batting department, noting that losing four wickets early in an innings placed significant pressure on the batters who followed, even as he credited Klaasen and Nitish Kumar Reddy for the manner in which they rebuilt the innings. Lucknow Super Giants head coach Daniel Vettori noted after the match that his team had become the first franchise this season to successfully defend or set and chase a target in both innings roles, and said it was important for the squad to demonstrate competence in all match conditions.
Key takeaways on what Lucknow Super Giants’ five-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad means for IPL 2026
- Lucknow Super Giants claimed their first two points of the Indian Premier League 2026 season by defeating Sunrisers Hyderabad by five wickets at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on April 5, chasing 157 with one ball remaining.
- Mohammed Shami was named Player of the Match for bowling figures of 2 for 9 from four overs that reduced Sunrisers Hyderabad to 11 for 3 in the first four overs, demonstrating the effectiveness of varied pace and slower deliveries in powerplay conditions.
- Heinrich Klaasen (62 off 41 balls) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (56 off 33 balls) added a fifth-wicket partnership of 116 runs to rescue Sunrisers Hyderabad from 26 for 4 and guide the team to 156 for 9, a total that proved insufficient.
- Rishabh Pant’s unbeaten 68 from 50 balls was the match-defining innings for Lucknow Super Giants, with Pant anchoring the chase through a period of middle-order collapse and sealing the result with a boundary in the final over off Jaydev Unadkat.
- Following this result, Lucknow Super Giants moved onto two points in the Indian Premier League 2026 standings while Sunrisers Hyderabad remained on four points with one defeat in three matches.
Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Lucknow Super Giants IPL 2026 Match 10 scorecard
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