Skipper Rishabh Pant upped his game when it mattered, while pacer Mohammed Shami posed probing questions not only to Sunrisers Hyderabad batters, but also to the national selection committee with an opening spell for ages to headline Lucknow Super Giants’s thrilling five-wicket victory in an IPL match here on Sunday. In a spell that oozed skill and class in equal measure, Shami bowled an astounding 18 dot balls to finish with 2-9 in four overs which largely became responsible as SRH were restricted to 156-9.

LSG rode on Aiden Markram’s 27-ball-45 and Pant’s 50-ball-68 not out to surpass the target with one ball to spare. The chase got tricky towards the end with nine needed off the final over, but Pant smote Jaydev Unadkat for two straight boundaries — second a forehand tennis like slap before another lofted boundary over mid-off to finish the game in style.