Mohammed Shami’s miserly 2 for 9 and Rishabh Pant’s uncharacteristic half-century helped Lucknow Super Giants [LSG] open their account in IPL 2026 as they beat Sunrisers Hyderabad [SRH] by five wickets in Hyderabad.

After Pant put SRH in, Shami dealt the early blows by dismissing Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head cheaply. He bowled three overs in the powerplay, and was done with his quota by the end of the ninth over.

Ishan Kishan and Liam Livingstone didn’t last long either, leaving SRH on 26 for 4 in the eighth over. Heinrich Klassen and Nitish Kumar Reddy rescued them by adding 116 in 63 balls – the highest fifth wicket partnership for SRH. The previous record, of 82, was set in the previous game by these two very batters. But Avesh Khan and co came back strongly in the death overs to restrict SRH to 156 for 9.

Come the chase, Aiden Markram’s 45 off 27 balls gave LSG the desired start. But the pitch wasn’t conducive to strokeplay, and LSG kept losing wickets at regular intervals. In the end, it came down to nine needed from the final over with Pant on strike. He had barely looked fluent until then but found two fours off the first two balls off Jaydev Unadkat to level the scores. Two dots later, Pant lofted one over mid-off to seal the result.

Bowling against his former team, Shami struck twice in his first seven balls. On the last ball of his opening over, he had Abhishek caught at short third with an offcutter. Then, with the first ball of his next, Shami outfoxed Head with another slower ball; Markram took a diving catch at mid-off on this occasion.

In the following over, Prince Yadav uprooted Kishan’s off stump with an inswinger to make it 11 for 3. Livingstone fell soon after. He tried to lap Digvesh Rathi but ended up deflecting the ball onto his shoulder. Pant, who was moving towards the leg side, dived to his right to complete a one-handed catch.

For the second game in a row, Klaasen and Reddy had to revive SRH’s innings. They started slowly and took SRH to 35 for 4 after ten overs – it was the fourth-lowest total by a team in the IPL at the halfway mark. SRH had hit only one four and one six until then, but after that, Klaasen and Reddy took the attack to the opposition. They plundered 79 runs in the next five overs.

Klaasen, who was dropped on 19 by Mukul Choudhary off M Siddharth, brought up his fifty off 33 balls. Reddy took only 30 to get to his. After 16 overs, SRH were 123 for 4, and would have been eyeing 170 – probably even more.

LSG’s bowlers brought them back into the contest with some excellent death bowling. Reddy holed out to sweeper cover off Siddharth in the 17th over. In the next, Klaasen went for a reverse lap off Avesh but ended up playing it too fine, and Pant dived across to take the catch. That sucked the momentum out of SRH’s innings; they could score only 33 runs in the last four overs while losing five wickets on the way.

Opening the bowling for SRH, Harsh Dubey started with a two-run over. But Markam and Mitchell Marsh picked up three fours off Reddy in the next. Markram also hit the first six of the innings when he pulled a slower ball from Unadkat over wide long-on. Marsh fell to Eshan Malinga for 14 off 12 balls, but Markram kept going. In the last over of the powerplay, he hit two fours and a six off Unadkat to take LSG to 53 for 1.

Pant was struggling at the other end but Markram ensured LSG remained ahead of the asking rate. He eventually fell to Shivang Kumar while trying to clear long-off.

Pant tried to break the shackles with back-to-back fours off Shivang in the 12th over, but Dubey had Ayush Badoni stumped. Nicholas Pooran came out at No. 5 and lasted just four balls. He swept Shivang fine, and set off for a single, without realising that Kishan had stopped the ball, and was thus run out.

Dubey tried to keep LSG in the contest with Samad’s wicket, and Harshal Patel bowled a four-run 19th over. But Pant stayed firm. Unadkat started the final over with a full delivery; Pant drilled it past him for four. Unadkat then bowled a slower one into the pitch, only for Pant to swat it down the ground for another boundary. Two dots later, Pant lofted one over mid-off to seal the game.

Brief scores:
Lucknow Super Giants 160 for 5 in 19.5 overs  ( Aiden Markram 45, Mitchell Marsh 14, Rishabh Pant 68*, Ayush Badoni 12, Abdul Samad 16; Harsh Dubey 2-18, Eshan Malinga 1-30, Shivang Kumar 1-30) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad 156 for 9 in 20 overs  (Liam Livingstone 14, Heinrich  Klaasen 62, Nitish Kumar  Reddy 56; Mohammed Shami 2-09, Digvesh Rathi 1-46, Prince Yadav 2-34, Manimaran Siddharth 1-29, Avesh Khan 2-36 ) by five wickets

[Cricinfo]

Trinity College ran riot at Sugathadasa Stadium, tearing past Royal College 58-26 with a ten-try blitz to clinch the Dialog Schools Rugby Knockouts 2026 President’s Trophy and end a 15-year title drought.

In a final dripping with history and rivalry, Trinity struck early and never loosened their grip, turning the contest into a one-sided procession after a brief Royal resistance.

Royal’s discipline wavered from the outset and Trinity pounced. After forcing early penalties, they worked the ball through the hands with purpose before centre Kevin Weerakoon finished in the corner, setting the tone for what followed.

Royal hit back swiftly through their tried-and-tested driving maul, prop Lemitha Amerasinghe crashing over with Mohamed Simak converting to edge them ahead. But it was a fleeting lead.

Trinity’s response was clinical. A well-orchestrated lineout move released Sadeesha Weerawansa and slick handling sent Dimath Abeypitiya over in the corner, skipper Shan Althaf adding the extras. Moments later, Trinity struck again, stretching Royal’s defence before Abeypitiya dotted down for his second.

Royal stayed in touch through another muscular maul, skipper Disas Pathirana finishing at the tail, but Trinity’s backline carried a sharper edge. Abdul Malik’s deft cross-kick found Ammaar Manzil, who plucked the ball out of the air to score, before Malik himself rounded off a flowing move just before the break.

At half-time, Trinity led 27-12 and Royal were already chasing shadows.

If there was any hope of a Royal revival, Trinity extinguished it immediately after the restart. Althaf pounced on a loose ball from a clever kick to extend the lead, before finishing another well-weighted cross-kick moments later to put the result beyond doubt.

With Malik pulling the strings, Trinity’s attack cut through at will. Hamza Abdeen chased down a grubber to score and Manzil capped a sweeping move after sharp interplay with Evin Jayasena and Thisara Paris as the scoreboard ticked relentlessly.

Royal managed a late rally, Hiruka Jayadinu and Akira Yatawara crossing for consolation tries with Simak converting both, but it barely dented Trinity’s dominance.

Fittingly, it was Althaf who had the final word. Completing his hat-trick after another cross-kick was gathered and recycled, the Trinity skipper sealed a commanding victory and with it, a long-awaited return to the top.

by Carlos Van de Berg

‎Royal College secured a place in the semi-finals after eliminating one of the title favourites, Mahanama College, with a first innings win in the Under 19 Division I Tier ‘A’ cricket tournament quarter-final at the D.H.H. Ground, Madampella on Saturday.

‎Royal are now set to meet Trinity in the semi-finals.

‎A superb century by Rehan Peiris and impressive bowling performances from paceman Mahiru Kodituwakku and spinner Himaru Deshan paved the way for Royal to clinch the crucial first innings advantage.

‎In reply to Royal’s formidable first innings total of 319, Mahanama were bowled out for 244 on the third day morning. Kodituwakku, who had earlier struck vital blows during an impressive opening spell by removing three top order batsmen, claimed his fourth wicket when he dismissed Eshan Withanage in the fourth ball of the day. Mahanama had faint hopes until Withanage anchored their late order.

‎Spinner Himaru Deshan provided valuable support to the pace attack with three wickets, while Ramiru Perera chipped in with two scalps to help Royal establish a significant 75-run first innings lead.

‎With less than three sessions remaining in the match, Royal only needed to bat out time to secure their passage to the semi-finals. However, Mahanama fought back briefly by removing four Royal top order batsmen cheaply.

‎Rehan Peiris steadied the innings with a patient knock of 43 runs before a crucial fifth wicket partnership of 107 runs between Dushen Udawela and Thevindu Wewalwala effectively ended Mahanama’s hopes of a comeback.

‎Udawela produced a determined innings to top score with 89 runs off 197 balls, striking ten fours and a six, while Wewalwala remained unbeaten on 56 after facing 128 deliveries as Royal reached 253 for 6 in their second innings. It was Wewalwala’s second half century of the match.

‎Earlier in the match, Peiris had set the tone for Royal with an outstanding 146 in the first innings, supported by Thevindu Wewalwala’s 57 as Royal posted 319.

‎For Mahanama, Venura Kaveethra was the most successful bowler with figures of five wickets for 86 runs.

‎‎Scores

‎Royal

319 all out in 87.2 overs (Rehan Peiris 146, Thevindu Wewalwala 57, Hirun Matheesha 28, Ramiru Perera 27; Venura Kaveethra 5/86, Chamika Heenatigala 2/80) and 253 for 6 in 81 overs (Rehan Peiris 43, Dushen Udawela 89, Thevindu Wewalwala 56 n.o.; Chamika Heenatigala 2/58)

Mahanama

244 all out in 80.4 overs (Sithum Vihanga 70, Eshan Withanage 46, Sanul Weerarathne 37, Chamika Heenatigala 32; Mahiru Kodituwakku 4/49, Himaru Deshan 3/87) (RF)