Nicholas Pooran played a cracking innings of 70 runs off only 26 balls against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in the ongoing IPL 2025. The West Indies international wreaked havoc right from the beginning as SRH bowlers looked clueless against the cricketer. None of their plans worked as Pooran dealt in boundaries, smashing 6 boundaries and 6 sixes during his stay on the crease.
The cricketer completed his half-century in just 18 deliveries. With that, he now has four half-centuries in less than 20 balls in IPL history. Travis Head and Jake Fraser-McGurk are placed joint second with three each to their name. Meanwhile, Pooran batted at a strike rate of 269.23 against SRH, which is phenomenal, to say the least. He stitched a partnership of 116-run with Mitchell Marsh, which helped Lucknow move close to the target.
With his 70-run knock, Pooran also became the leading run-scorer in the tournament. He has amassed 145 runs so far, while Marsh is right behind him with 124 to his name.
LSG beat SRH by five wickets
LSG had a stunning day with both bat and ball against Sunrisers. Shardul Thakur, who went unsold in the IPL mega-auction, replaced Mohsin Khan and ever since he has been terrific for the franchise. Against SRH, the 33-year-old picked up four wickets and played a major role in SRH posting 191 runs in the first innings.
In the second innings, Marsh and Pooran were too hot to handle for the SRH bowlers, as Lucknow picked up a five-wicket win and moved to second on the points table. Thakur was adjudged Player of the Match for his brilliant spell in the first innings. Meanwhile, LSG will next host Punjab Kings on April 1 at their home stadium - Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium.