Openers Mitchell Marsh and Aiden Markram struck fifties but others couldn't keep the momentum going as Lucknow Super Giants made 205/7 against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League on Monday.
Marsh (65 off 39) and Markram (61 off 38) were at their best with the bat in the powerplay, taking LSG to 69 for no loss. Debutant left-arm spinner Harsh Dubey, a record wicket-taker in the latest Ranji Trophy season, was introduced rather early and the LSG openers made a conscious effort to target the rookie.
Marsh cleared his left leg to dispatch Dubey for a six over long-on in the second ball of his opening over before Markram collected his first maximum of the match with another straight off the left-arm spinner in his following over.
Markram was dropped in the ninth over, making life tougher for the visiting team. But SRH finally got the breakthrough in the 11th over when Dubey returned to have Marsh caught at short third man, giving the 22-year-old his maiden IPL wicket.
That brought Rishabh Pant (7 off 6) to the crease with the under-fire skipper deciding to come ahead of Nicholas Pooran at number three.
Pant, who has changed batting positions through the season with little success, once again struggled before offering a catch to pacer Eshan Malinga.
In overs 11-15, LSG could only managed 38 runs for the loss of two wickets, impacting their momentum adversely.
Pooran (45 off 26), who could not find the sixes with the ease he normally does, ensured his team crossed the 200-run mark.
Nitish Reddy, bowling for the first time this season, was given the 20th over in which he conceded 20 runs.
