• Lucknow win IPL spin shootout

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    Krunal Pandya’s 3-18 led a wounding spin attack for the Lucknow Super Giants to outclass the Sunrisers Hyderabad on a slow pitch during Friday’s five-wicket victory.

    The visitors wilted under a relentless 13 overs of spin and managed to cobble together just 121-8 after electing to bat first.

    Veteran leg spinner Amit Mishra, who missed last year’s tournament, vindicated his return to the IPL with 2-23 in four overs on the slowest pitch of the season so far.

    “I am happy to play a limited role for the side,” said Mishra (40). “There is less bounce on this black soil wicket, and that’s the beauty of different conditions in the IPL. We did well to win in these conditions.”

    The Sunrisers tried hard to fight fire with fire but their own spin attack took too long to yield results with too small a total to defend.

    Lucknow scored 127-5 in 16 overs and Pandya also shone with the bat, scoring 34 off 23 balls for the third wicket.

    But it was his left-arm spin that sealed the win, with Mayank Agarwal sent back for eight and Aiden Markran falling for a golden duck during his debut as captain on consecutive balls.

    “We didn’t really have enough runs on the board. It wasn’t a great wicket for batting,” said Markram. “We tried to fight and scrap as much as we could, but they bowled well as per the conditions. We didn’t have any momentum at all.”

    Leg spinner Ravi Bishnoi took 1-16 for Lucknow and now has six wickets in three outings.

    He trails English teammate Mark Wood, who has eight wickets in two games but missed Friday’s match to illness.

    Captain KL Rahul anchored Lucknow’s innings with a sedate 35.

    Hyderabad have now lost both their opening games and are languishing at the bottom of the IPL log.

    Lucknow lead the tournament with their second win in three games.

    They next face the Royal Challengers Bangalore on Monday, when flashy South African Quinton de Kock will hope to return after sitting out Friday’s home match.

    © Agence France-Presse

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    Simon Borchardt