IPL 2024 Qualification Scenarios: How can Lucknow Super Giants qualify for playoffs after loss against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Match 57?

In a pivotal clash between the Sunrisers Hyderabad and the Rajasthan Royals in Match 57 of IPL 2024, KL Rahul won the toss and opted to bat first. This was not a surprising call made by Rahul, given how potent SRH have been when given the license to express themselves with the bat first.

The skipper could not capitalize and utilize the powerplay, ultimately perishing for a lingering 29 (33). Quinton de Kock and Marcus Stoinis got dismissed for trivial scores, but a 99-run stand for the fifth wicket between Nicholas Pooran and Ayush Badoni, LSG's highest for that particular wicket in their entire history. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Sri Lankan debutant, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth were impressive with the ball, with the pacer not conceding a single boundary in his entire spell and picking a couple of wickets as well, and the young leggie exhibiting excellent control, going for only 27 runs in his four.

Also Read: Watch: Pat Cummins celebrates birthday with father and SRH teammates, video goes viral

The two SRH openers slaughtered LSG's bowlers, whacking everyone to all parts of the ground. The first over bowled by Krishnappa Gowtham went for eight, post which every other bowler leaked runs like a burst dam, conceding the 166-run target in just 9.4 overs, shattering all sorts of records on the way. Impact Player, Travis Head, in combination with Abhishek Sharma, created absolute mayhem on the field as they didn't let anyone off the hook, ending up with psychedelic scores of 75*(28) and 89*(30), lacing 16 fours and 14 maximums en route to a massive confidence-booster of a victory for the home team.

LSG in a tight spot in terms of going through 

Also Read: 'Probably creators are also his fans like me' - SS Rajamouli on resemblance of Bahubali character with MS Dhoni

 After being inflicted with a ruthless loss at the hands of SRH, LSG have it all to do in their remaining two matches, which will be against the Delhi Capitals and the Mumbai Indians, respectively. With their net run rate taking a toll due to the margin by which they lost against SRH, it's the least as compared to the five teams above them (-0.769).

Tied on their opponents for their next fixture with both of them being on 12 points with six wins and as many losses in their respective campaigns, their next game will be a do-or-die for them, with them failing to win that being the end of the season as far as the franchise is concerned, who finished third in their initial seasons (2022 and 2023), with their final league game against MI being nothing more than a dead rubber.