IPL 2025 Match 7: Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Lucknow Super Giants

Across the opening round of 2025 Indian Premier League fixtures, three games saw both teams hit scores of 200+ and two of those six teams to do so meet in match seven as Sunrisers Hyderabad take on Lucknow Super Giants at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Thursday evening. 

Match Stats

• Nicholas Pooran averages 63.77 with a strike-rate of 185.16 in the IPL from the start of the 2024 season.
• Pat Cummins recorded Sunrisers Hyderabad’s best bowling figures in three of their first six games last season but has failed to ldo so again since.
• Ravi Bishnoi vs Heinrich Klaasen in T20s: 0/30 from 19 balls.
• Shardul Thakur has recorded the best bowling figures for his side in both of his last two IPL appearances.
• The team losing the toss has won over 64% of IPL matches at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.
   

After losing the final in 2024, Sunrisers got off to a winning start in this campaign with a 44-run victory over Rajasthan Royals in a game which generated 528 runs, the second highest in IPL history. In fact, of the four IPL matches to have an aggregate of 523+, which have all taken place over the last 12 months, the Sunrisers have been involved in three of them, with two taking place in Hyderabad!

Lucknow’s opener against Delhi Capitals saw 420 runs scored and for over three-quarters of the contest, it looked as though Rishabh Pant would lead his new franchise to victory. However, the Super Giants were unable to finish off the Capitals, who were 65/5 in pursuit of 210, and taking more than one wicket from the eighth to the 16th over will be an area to work on in this clash.

The last time these sides met at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Lucknow were protecting a three-game H2H winning streak but went on to lose by ten wickets with 62 balls remaining. The home fans will have excellent memories of that May night last season and will be hoping for more of the same this time round.

Sunrisers Hyderabad Win Prediction

It was Travis Head who took no prisoners in the last H2H between the sides with 89 not out from 30 balls as Sunrisers completed their chase of 166 with over half of their innings remaining! The Australian was in a similar mood on Sunday, hitting 67 runs from 31 balls and he is averaging 51.33 with a strike-rate of 196.17 at this venue from 2024 onwards.

But just like last season, Sunrisers don’t just rely on one or two batters and it was Ishan Kishan, on his debut for the franchise, who top-scored with his first IPL century, hitting 106 not out from 47 balls, not a bad way to mark his 100th IPL innings.

Crucial to posting 286/6 against Rajasthan Royals, the second highest IPL team score, were the strike-rates of 216.12+ from all of Hyderabad’s top six and their aggressive approach could well see them to success once again in this fixture.

With the ball, skipper Pat Cummins will be hoping the only way is up after leaking 60 runs from his four wicketless overs but both Simarjeet Singh (2/46) and the irrepressible Harshal Patel (2/34) come into this game well into their stride from a wicket-taking perspective.

Lucknow Super Giants Win Prediction

Losing any game by as narrow a margin of one wicket can take some getting over, but Lucknow Super Giants should arrive in Hyderabad with plenty of positives from their defeat to Delhi Capitals.

Shardul Thakur for one, a player who started the weekend as an Essex player preparing for the County Championship but by early Tuesday evening had dismissed Jake Fraser-McGurk and Abishek Porel in the first over of Delhi’s chase!

‘Lord Thakur’ was one of four bowlers for Lucknow to pick up a brace of wickets in their opening game and, along with Manimaran Siddharth and Digvesh Rath,i kept their economy rates in single-figures. Ravi Bishnoi also dismissed two batters but leaked 53 runs across his four overs. 

With the bat, Mitchell Marsh (72 runs from 36 balls) and Nicholas Pooran (75 runs from 30 balls) will both be full of confidence and the Super Giants will surely not see many six-ball ducks from their new skipper Pant this season!