LSG vs SRH Live Score, IPL 2025: Sunrisers Hyderabad 195/4; Klaasen falls but Hyderabad on course for the win

PREVIEW

The eight-day suspension of the Indian Premier League threw a spanner in the works for BCCI, the international cricket calendar and fans, among other stakeholders. However, the break might just be what Lucknow Super Giants needed to steady a stuttering campaign as the Playoff race heats up.

Three defeats on the trot, and four in the last five, have left its knockout hopes hanging by the thinnest of threads. LSG needs to win its three remaining matches, starting with the clash against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Ekana Cricket Stadium here on Monday, and hope for the teams above them to stumble for an improbable top-four finish.

All eyes will be on skipper Rishabh Pant, the Rs. 27 crore signing who has failed to live up to promised potential. SRH, though, remains one of the teams he has relished facing. Pant is one of only seven players to have scored more than 550 runs against SRH and has the highest strike rate (144.61) among them.

Super Giants, led by Shardul Thakur’s four-fer, laid bare the weak spots in Sunrisers’ armour when the two met in Hyderabad last month. It was the first of four consecutive defeats for SRH, which put it on the fast lane to elimination. However, the visitor’s washed out game against Delhi Capitals showed how it can perform when the weight of expectations is off its shoulders, something that should keep LSG on its toes.

Having lost star pacer Mayank Yadav to injury once again, the pressure will be on uncapped Digvesh Rathi, Shardul Thakur and Akash Deep to ensure that LSG -- with the worst economy rate in the PowerPlay (10.54) this season -- does not get taken to the cleaners by SRH’s explosive batting arsenal, which might be missing Travis Head after the Australian’s recent bout with COVID-19.

Click here to read article