• IPL 2026 SCORECARD: Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Lucknow Super Giants
Mohammed Shami not only demolished Sunrisers Hyderabad's top order but also presented his case to the national selection committee with an opening spell for ages while skipper Rishabh Pant upped his game when it mattered to headline Lucknow Super Giants' thrilling five-wicket victory in the IPL 2026 match, in Hyderabad, on Sunday.
In a spell that oozed skill and class in equal measure, Shami bowled an astounding 18 dot balls to finish with magical figures of 2/9 in four overs as Sunrisers Hyderabad finished on a below-par 156 for 9.
LSG rode on Aiden Markram's 27-ball-45 and skipper Rishabh Pant's 50-ball-68 not out to surpass the target with one ball to spare.
The chase got a touch tricky towards the end with 9 needed off the final over but Pant smote Jaydev Unadkat for two straight boundaries -- second a forehand tennis like swat before a lofted boundary over mid-off to finish the game in style.
It was an innings that had nine boundaries and his choice of strokes was measured on a slowish track where SRH spinners Harsh Dubey and Shvang Kumar were difficult to hit.
But it was Shami, the 35-year-old artist, who set up the match in the LSG's bowling Powerplay itself. His scalps were the crack opening pair of Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head, dismissed off successive deliveries across two overs with different variation of slower deliveries.
Shami was ably supported by young Prince Yadav (2/34 in 4 overs), who produced an incredible inswinger to clean up Ishan Kishan, as the SRH skipper was bowled through the gate.
While Pant would have fancied bowling SRH out for less than 100 after restricting them to 26 for 4 at one stage, Heinrich Klaasen (62 off 41 balls) and all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy (56 off 33 balls) counter-attacked to add 116 runs for the fifth wicket.
But there was a third act to the tale as SRH had another batting collapse losing five wickets for 14 runs in last 2.2 overs.
During the chase, LSG did stutter in phases but Pant, who curbed his impetuosity showed glimpses of his vintage self but also concentrated on crossing the line.
However once both were dismissed in quick succession, LSG once again came back into the game to restrict the home team to under 160.
This was after Shami's incredible figures of 4-0-9-2, comprising 18 dot balls that really had SRH on the mat as the celebrated top three of Travis Head (7), Abhishek Sharma (0) and skipper Ishan Kishan (1) were back in the dug-out.
Worse, the hard-hitting Liam Livingstone also headed back, thanks to smart glovework by LSG skipper Rishabh Pant.
But once the back 10 started, things suddenly changed as the next five overs from 11-15 produced an astounding 79 runs with leg-spinner Digvesh Rathi, after giving only 10 runs in his first two overs, went for 36 in his next two.
The Indian pacers Avesh Khan and Prince Yadav, who looked good in the front 10, suddenly lost their bearings and length as Klaasen and Reddy mostly hit through the line. In the first 10, only one six and one four was hit but the Klaasen-Reddy pairing hit seven maximums and eight boundaries between them.
Overlooked time and again, 35-year-old Shami once again sent a stern reminder to the national selection committee with an opening spell for the ages that was pivotal to LSG choking SRH despite the Klaasen-Reddy stand.
Shami removed IPL's most destructive opening pair of Abhishek and Head off successive deliveries across his first two overs to set the tone.
The cerebral operator in Shami quickly understood that he would have to take the pace off the deliveries on this track and did so promptly.
He bowled four fullish blockhole deliveries to Head and allowed a single. When Abhishek took strike, the final delivery of the opening over was a loopy fuller delivery on the fifth stump which the opener tried to pitch.
Instead of a conventional slip, a 'fly slip' or short third-man on the circle was stationed and Manimaran Siddharth took a smart diving catch. Off the very first delivery of his next over, Shami bowled a slower one on length which gripped and bounced a touch more forcing Head to check his drive but the uppish jab was caught by Aiden Markram at mid-off diving in-front.
April 6, 2026: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Punjab Kings, Kolkata, 7.30 pm IST.