NEW DELHI: Opener Abhishek Sharma lit up the evening with a breathtaking 59 off just 20 balls to power Sunrisers Hyderabad to a convincing six-wicket win over Lucknow Super Giants on Monday. Chasing 206 for victory, Abhishek’s fireworks – studded with four boundaries and six towering sixes – laid the foundation for the chase, which Hyderabad completed with 10 balls to spare in Lucknow.The left-hander fell in the eighth over, but not before setting up the momentum. Heinrich Klaasen (47) and Kamindu Mendis (32* retired hurt) stitched a crucial 55-run stand for the fourth wicket to take Hyderabad to the brink of victory. Nitish Reddy and Aniket Verma then wrapped things up with ease.With this loss, Lucknow Super Giants were officially knocked out of the playoff race, becoming the fifth team to be eliminated from contention. The final playoff spot is now a direct battle between Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals.“Definitely, it could have been one of our best seasons,” a disappointed LSG skipper Rishabh Pant said after the match. “But coming into the tournament, we had a lot of gaps and injuries. As a team, we decided not to talk about that, but it became difficult to fill those gaps.”Gujarat Titans, Punjab Kings, and Royal Challengers Bengaluru have already sealed their spots in the playoffs, which begin on May 29.
For Sunrisers Hyderabad, already out of playoff contention, the victory came as a morale booster. “It gives us a lot of confidence for next year,” said skipper Pat Cummins.
Abhishek went on the attack early, even after losing opening partner Atharva Taide, who became debutant Will O’Rourke’s maiden IPL scalp. The 23-year-old brought up his fifty in just 18 balls and smashed three consecutive sixes off Ravi Bishnoi, asserting his dominance.Leg-spinner Digvesh Rathi eventually ended Abhishek’s blistering knock, and Ishan Kishan added 35 before falling. Klaasen and Mendis then steadied the ship. Though Klaasen missed out on a half-century and Mendis had to limp off due to a foot injury, Hyderabad had done enough.The final flourish came from Reddy and Verma, sealing a confidence-boosting win for the Sunrisers as they look ahead to IPL 2026.
