Under the Lucknow sun, the Super Giants managed a feat that blended drama with a dose of deja vu, defending a spirited 163 to gift the Gujarat Titans their first taste of defeat this IPL season. It was a day when Marcus Stoinis flexed his batting muscles for a timely half-century, and Yash Thakur carved through Gujarat’s lineup like a hot knife through butter, clinching a maiden five-for that would make the highlight reels blush.

The stage was set at Lucknow with the Super Giants opting to bat first, a move that initially seemed to backfire as Umesh Yadav’s new ball wizardry sent shivers down the batting order. Yet, it was Stoinis who steadied the ship, his bat speaking in thunderous roars amid a sea of softer knocks. KL Rahul, the captain cool, played the perfect second fiddle, but both skippers fell just as they looked set to launch, leaving the middle overs in a bit of a pickle.

Enter Nicholas Pooran and Ayush Badoni, who added late cameos like sprinkles on an already intriguing cake, pushing LSG to a total that was respectable but not beyond the realms of chaseable. But as history would have it, defending 160-plus is a fortress Lucknow knows all too well how to defend.

On the other side, the Titans began their chase with a gusto that belied the impending collapse. Sai Sudharsan and Shubman Gill looked more comfortable at the crease than a cat in a sunbeam, stitching together a promising start. However, the final ball of the powerplay proved to be the proverbial banana peel underfoot, sparking a collapse that saw the Titans implode spectacularly—from 54 for none to 102 all out, like a poorly constructed house of cards.

Yash Thakur, with a name that seemed to instill fear, turned his spell into an exhibition, skittling the Titans with a display of bowling so fierce it might well have been borrowed from a thunderstorm. Krunal Pandya, not to be outdone, spun his web around the bewildered batters, his figures of 3 for 11 through four overs a testament to his guile and craft.

As the Titans’ wickets tumbled like dominoes, the Super Giants tightened their grip on the game. The final nails in the coffin were hammered in by Thakur, who dispatched Vijay Shankar and Rashid Khan in quick succession, leaving the Titans’ middle and lower order in ruins. Rahul Tewatia’s valiant 30 off 25 balls flickered briefly, like a candle in the wind, but his effort was in vain as he too succumbed, lofting a catch to the deep.

Back to the start of the day, LSG’s innings had its own narrative arcs. Quinton de Kock, marking his 100th IPL game, smacked a six off his second ball but perished trying to repeat the dose. As wickets fell around him, Rahul knitted a crucial partnership with Stoinis, combining caution with occasional aggression. But just as they looked to press the accelerator, the wheels started to wobble, and both set batsmen departed, leaving the innings in a precarious position.

It was then up to Pooran and Badoni to provide the finishing thrills, their late assault helping LSG past the psychological barrier of 160, setting the stage for their bowlers to defend—a task they accomplished with a clinical precision that would have made a surgeon proud.

As the dust settled on a match that had everything from explosive starts to dramatic collapses, it was clear that the Super Giants, through a blend of solid batting, sensational bowling, and a bit of luck, had scripted a perfect ending to what could very well be termed a classic IPL saga.