INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) fell out of the IPL 2025 playoffs race on Monday night, leaving Mumbai Indians (MI) and Delhi Capitals (DC)
fighting for the last remaining slot in the top four.
In their match against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Monday, LSG made a storming start,
with Mitchell Marsh and Aiden Markram putting on 115 at close to 11 runs an over.
But SRH’s bowlers hit back with clever use of the old
ball and limited them to 205, a total that proved inadequate in the face of a thrilling display of six-hitting from Abhishek Sharma.
SRH
were already out of contention for the playoffs when this match began, but they showed their strength in their batting line up – even
without Travis Head, who missed out after a bout of Covid-19 delayed his return to India.
Abhishek hit six sixes in a 20-ball 59, turning
his team-mates’ task straightforward; with Ishan Kishan, Heinrich Klaasen and Kamindu Mendis also getting past 30, SRH reached their
target with ten balls remaining, ESPNcricinfo reported.
LSG’s batting, yet again, was over-reliant on their big three, with Nicholas
Pooran scoring 45 off 26 balls on the back of the openers’ half-centuries, and no one else reaching double figures.
Having scored 108
for no loss in the first ten overs, LSG only managed 97 for 7 in the back half, as SRH’s bowlers pulled them back with their changes of
pace.
The match officially ended in the 19th over, but its symbolic end came in the 14th, when Kamindu hit Digvesh Rathi for three clinical,
back-to-back fours in his final over.
Speaking after the match, LSG’s captain Rishabh Pant said injuries to key personnel created “lot
of gaps” that played a part in the team’s underwhelming IPL 2025.
“It couldn’t be the best season for us,” Pant
said.
“Getting into the tournament we knew a lot of gaps were there because of injuries
We decided we won’t talk about that, but it became difficult to close out those gaps.”
Pant was seemingly referring to the prolonged
absence of several key players
Left-arm pacer Mohsin Khan missed the entire season, while express quick Mayank Yadav, one of LSG’s prized retentions, spent most of the
tournament on the sidelines.
Other big-money signings Avesh Khan and Akash Deep also struggled with fitness issues and joined the playing
XI only midway through the season.
“The way we planned the auction, if we had the same bowling [attack], the story would be different,”
Pant said.
“At the same time, this is cricket, things can happen
Sometimes they go your way, sometimes they don’t
Need to take pride in the way we’re playing
Need to look at the positives other than discussing more on the negative side.”
Tuesday, May 20: Match 62
Today’s match will see Chennai
Super Kings take on Rajasthan Royals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, in Delhi.
Fans in Afghanistan can tune in to TINS Television from 5:30pm
to watch the match live.
The post IPL 2025: Lucknow Super Giants crash out of playoffs race first appeared on TINS News | Afghanistan
