The tension would have started in the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) camp as they found themselves in a crucial position in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. The KL Rahul-led team had a memorable performance in the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).
The 57th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 was played between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Lucknow Super Giants at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. The KL Rahul-led side was at a loss and suffered a 10-wicket drubbing.
Lucknow Super Giants won the toss and elected to bat first. It seemed like they were bringing a large sum to the table. However, this was not the case as they started poorly with the bat. Quinton de Kock (2) and Marcus Stoinis (3) were dropped early and the team came under pressure.
Skipper KL Rahul (29) struggled with his timing while Krunal Pandya (24) played a crucial hand with the bat. Lucknow Super Giants were reeling at 66/4 and looked like they were going to get it all out early. But after that, Ayush Badoni (55*) and Nicholas Pooran (48) brought their team back into the game.
The duo added an unbeaten 99 runs and bailed out Lucknow Super Giants. Due to their collective performance with the bat, the home team posted a total of 165 runs on the board. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the pick of the bowlers for his team with a score of 2/12.
The Lucknow Super Giants seemed clueless with the ball as Sunrisers Hyderabad batters Abhishek Sharma (75*) and Travis Head (89*) launched an attack on the bowlers right from the start. They made the bowling line-up look ridiculous as almost every ball flew out of the park.
The duo added an unbeaten 167 runs chasing the target within 10 overs to help Sunrisers Hyderabad to their seventh win of the season. They also increased their NRR and ensured they were in contention for the playoffs.
Lucknow Super Giants qualification scenario for IPL 2024 playoffs
The defeat against Sunrisers was the 6th defeat for Lucknow Super Giants in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. They are currently at the 6th position in the points table with 6 wins and 6 defeats. They also have an NRR of -0.769, which is not ideal for them in the context of the playoffs.
But even after the defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad there is still a chance of making it into the playoffs. Lucknow Super Giants need to win their next two games of IPL 2024 as this could take them to 16 points and potentially make it to the playoffs.
However, there is no guarantee for this. Delhi Capitals and Chennai Super Kings also have 12 points and Lucknow Super Giants want both teams to lose one of their remaining games and the path will be easy for them. A defeat for LSG would now mean the end of the tournament.