Nothing new about Sunrisers Hyderabad owner Kavya Maran’s images going viral before, during, even during an SRH game. She is among those driven franchise owners who uses her heart as her tool and hardly tries to suppress her feelings. One glance at Kavya will help you to precisely locate SRH’s position in the game. In IPL 2025 the narrative has been exactly the same. When Ishan Kishan smashed his first IPL century to start the 18th season off brilliantly, Kavya was overjoyed. On Thursday, SRH’s second game against Lucknow Super Giants, the narrative turned out exactly the reverse.
Though not the kind SRH typically delivers, there were fireworks alright. Especially playing at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Hyderabad, where scoring at 9.5 runs an over feels “slow,” they have raised the standard of scoring rate. What appeared to be an idea in mind became useful when LSG came out to bat. With five wickets in the bank, they knocked down SRH’s 191-run mark in 16.1 overs, Nicholas Pooran and Mitchell Marsh blazing all guns.
Generally used to witness sixes flying off Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Kishan and Heinrich Klaasen’s bat, the same treatment meted out to her SRH bowlers by Nicholas Pooran hurt her heart. With a scorching 70 off only 26 balls with six sixes and as many boundaries, the big-hitting West Indies hitter theoretically killed the match in the powerplay itself. Not even India’s seasoned bowler Mohammed Shami or SRH captain Pat Cummins had a response to the onslaught.
A camera continually focused on Kavya as Pooran was killing the SRH bowlers. Hands on head, she was collapsed, sorrow written all over her face. Mitchell Marsh was offering no break from the other end. Marsh arrived as an impact player at the top order and struck 52 off 31 balls, so aggravating SRH bowlers and increasing Kavya’s stress levels.
Nicholas Pooran hammers SRH to guide LSG into simple victory.
Before Pooran and Marsh showed in a rapid 116-run stand-off just 43 balls, Mohammed Shami had Aiden Markram caught at mid-off off his fourth ball in Luckowness.
Pooran ran Lucknow to 96-1 in just seven overs, completing his half-century off 18 balls with a sweeping six against Adam Zampa.
Before his countryman Marsh finished his 50 with back-to–back boundaries against him, Hyderabad captain Pat Cummins trapped Pooran leg with a full-pitched delivery from round the wicket.
Soon after, Marsh collapsed to Cummins from overlong holing out. Pant (15) sliced a catch to short third man, and Harshal Patel sprinted from mid-wicket and dived in time to scoop a magnificent catch.
After losing to Delhi Capitals in their opener, Abdul Samad looked in a hurry as he blasted two sixes and two fours in his quickfire 22 off eight balls Luckownow secured its first win.