ABHISHEK SHARMA scored 59 off 20 balls to help Sunrisers Hyderabad beat Lucknow SuperGiants by six wickets on Monday, ending Lucknow’s chances of making the IPL playoffs.

Chasing 206 for victory, Abhishek set the tone with an innings that included four fours and six sixes. Hyderabad reached the target with 10 balls remaining in Lucknow.

He was dismissed in the eighth over. Heinrich Klaasen, who made 47, and Kamindu Mendis, who retired hurt on 32, added 55 runs for the fourth wicket to take the team close to the target.

With the loss, Lucknow became the fifth team to be knocked out of the playoff race. Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals remain in contention for the final spot.

"Definitely it could have been one of our best seasons but coming into the tournament we had a lot of gaps, injuries," said Lucknow captain Rishabh Pant. "As a team we decided to not talk about that but it became difficult to fill those gaps."

Gujarat Titans, Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru have already qualified for the playoffs, which begin on May 29.

Sunrisers Hyderabad were already out of the race, but captain Pat Cummins said the win “gives (us) a lot of confidence for next year”.

Abhishek began attacking after losing his opening partner Atharva Taide, who was dismissed by New Zealand pacer Will O'Rourke on his IPL debut.

Abhishek reached his fifty in 18 balls, hitting five sixes including three in a row off  Read More….