[Watch] LSG skipper Krunal Pandya produces consecutive rippers to remove SRH’s star batters
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) skipper Krunal Pandya produced two virtually unplayable deliveries to dismiss Aiden Markram and Glenn Phillips off consecutive balls against the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Hyderabad on Saturday, May 13.
SRH were coasting alone at 115-3 in 12 overs, with the South African pair of Markram and Heinrich Klaasen amid an excellent partnership of 33 from 20 deliveries when the LSG skipper produced a moment of magic.
Krunal dismissed Markram with a delivery that pitched on the middle stump and turned sharply to beat the outside edge of the right-hander's bat for Quinton de Kock to effect a stumping.
He followed that with another peach of a delivery that turned from middle and off stump to clean up Glenn Philips for a first-ball duck.
Here is a video of Krunal Pandya's double strike:
bit.ly/TATAIPL-2023-58 Two unplayable deliveries 🔥🔥
@krunalpandya24 leads from the front with a double-strike ⚡️⚡️
Follow the match ▶️ bit.ly/TATAIPL-2023-58
#TATAIPL | #SRHvLSG https://t.co/TfZs2M9f3s
Krunal Pandya was appointed the captain of LSG after regular skipper KL Rahul suffered an unfortunate injury to the thigh during the game against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), ruling him out for the remainder of the season.
Krunal finishes with excellent figures of 2/24 in his four overs, as he helped restrict SRH to 182-6 in their 20 overs after they won the toss and elected to bat first.
The all-rounder was the Player of the Match in the first meeting between the sides with figures of 3/18 and a crucial 23-ball 34 with the bat, leading LSG to a five-wicket win with four overs to spare.
"No matter how many runs you score. It's about keeping things simple" - LSG wicket-keeper Quinton de Kock ahead of the SRH clash
Lucknow Super Giants wicketkeeper-batter Quinton de Kock spoke about being back after being out of action for a while ahead of the crucial encounter against the SunRisers Hyderabad.
De Kock missed LSG's first ten games but returned spectacularly, scoring 70 off 41 deliveries in the side's 56-run defeat to the Gujarat Titans on May 7.
Speaking ahead of the SRH game, De Kock said:
"It's hard, I didn't play for quite a while. Scoring some runs was nice, still disappointed with the outcome of the game. No matter how many runs you score. It's about keeping things simple and handling the pressure as much as we can. That's pretty much it, just focussing on our strengths and we need to play smart cricket. I don't warm-up much, the sun heats us up anyway. Just need to keep the body moving."
De Kock had an incredible first season with the Super Giants last year, scoring 508 runs at a strike rate of 148.97 in 15 games and helping the team finish third on the points table.
The game bears much consequence for both teams as they fight for a playoff spot. LSG are currently at 11 points in as many games, while SRH are languishing in seventh place with eight points in ten games.