[Watch] Bhuvneshwar Kumar takes a spectacular return catch in the SRH LSG encounter
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) continued their miserable start to IPL 2023 as they went down to the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in a convincing manner. The Super Giants comfortably chased SRH's sub-par total of 121 in only 16 overs with five wickets in hand.
Despite the result never being in doubt throughout most of the run chase, SRH pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar pulled off one of the catches of IPL 2023 to dismiss Lucknow Super Giants' No. 3 Deepak Hooda. Kumar dived to the left off his follow-through and took a one-handed catch off his bowling.
The catch did breathe some life into the game as it reduced LSG to 45-2 in six overs. However, skipper KL Rahul and all-rounder Krunal Pandya sniffed out any hope the Sunrisers may have had with a 55-run partnership.
SRH fans may not have had much to rejoice about in their opening two matches of this year's IPL, but Bhuvaneshwar Kumar's stunning catch will rank as one of the few high points.
Check out this video of Bhuvi's spectacular one-handed grab that sent Deepak Hooda packing.
Watch the dismissal here 👇👇
#TATAIPL #LSGvSRH twitter.com/IPL/status/164… https://t.co/RwDBVnrlmv
LSG are back on track with two wins in their opening three matches, while SRH drops their second successive match by a substantial margin.
"I knew I was going to bowl early" - Krunal Pandya on his Man of the Match performance against SRH
The Lucknow Super Giants thumped the Sunrisers Hyderabad in Lucknow by five wickets with four overs to spare. The victory propelled them to the top of the table with two wins in three matches.
Krunal Pandya was the man of the match for his all-round showing as he picked up 3/18 in his four overs and followed it up with an excellent 34 off 23 deliveries with the bat.
Speaking at the post-match presentation, Krunal shared his thoughts about how having clarity has helped and the work he has put in over the past five months, especially with the ball. He said:
"Very good day at the office. Both [wickets and runs] pleased me. Everything was special today. [SRH] having more right-handers, I knew I was going to bowl early. Once you have clarity, things automatically fall into place."
"Last four or five months I took a break from cricket. I just worked on my skills, especially on bowling. Worked on my action... wanted to get that arm ball going."
Skipper KL Rahul spoke about his assessment of the pitch yesterday, which enabled him to better plan for today's match:
"[We realised] yesterday how the wicket was going to play! We knew what we were getting into. We saw in the first couple of overs: when Jaydev bowled a few cutters, they were gripping. I knew KP's better in the powerplay.
The Lucknow Super Giants will now travel to Bengaluru to take on the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on April 10, while the Sunrisers Hyderabad will look to open their account against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) on Sunday (April 9).