Mohammed Shami came back to haunt his former team, Sunrisers Hyderabad, taking the sting out of its explosive batting unit before the side was even ready to get going against Lucknow Super Giants in their IPL 2026 clash on Sunday (April 5, 2026).

“I am not a machine. My seasons can go up and down. I have performed well in the last few years. People didn’t notice, that’s a different story. But I always try to do well,” an emotional Shami declared after delivering a match-winning performance.

Besides scalping SRH openers Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head, his spell featured 18 dot balls and stifled the home side early.

“Dot balls depend on your preparation, followed by execution. Sometimes it happens that a very good ball leaves your hand. It’s important to hold that line and flow, and I did just that. Pace off works a little against Hyderabad batsmen, so I did that too,” he said.

With former India bowling coach Bharat Arun in his corner, the 35-year-old credited meticulous planning and hard work for his strong performances against Delhi Capitals and SRH.

“My strength has always been with the new ball. On that particular day, if your bowling is going well, then you put in three overs early. If three go well, then put the fourth quickly.”

When asked about playing on a familiar turf but for a different team, Shami said, “I play all over India. Everyone knows how the wicket is anywhere, what the conditions are and how to use them. It is very important to know how to use that against different teams”.

Sunrisers Hyderabad, a side already backed into a corner by injury, was pinned to the wall a bit more by a man with a point to prove.

Age had bent Mohammed Shami’s back, not his spirit. He struck, not with the fury of youth, but the precision of a legend to lay the foundation of Lucknow Super Giants’ five-wicket win in IPL 2026 here on Sunday.

Sunrisers have built their identity on explosive PowerPlay scoring, with the ‘Travishek’ duo redefining early-overs aggression. Shami, however, tore up that script. With subtle variations and change of pace, he dismantled both Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head.

The roaring approval from a partisan home crowd when Rishabh Pant decided to bowl made way for eerie silence twenty minutes into the innings. Ishan Kishan had barely settled before Prince Yadav shattered his stumps, as the top-order crumbled. The slide continued when Liam Livingstone fell on his SRH debut, Pant’s sharp glovework snuffing out any attempt at recovery.

At 35 for four, their lowest score after 10 overs in IPL, Sunrisers looked lost, with their usually vibrant crowd desperate for a moment of relief. Even a ball trickling past the 30-yard circle was enough to spark applause.

That relief, when it came, was electric. Heinrich Klaasen and Nitish Kumar launched a stunning counterattack, stitching together a 116-run stand off just 63 balls. For a brief spell, the momentum shifted, and the Super Giants wavered as Shami watched from the dugout.

Control, however, was swiftly restored. Manimaran Siddharth broke the stand by sending Nitish packing and Pant’s brilliance removed Klaasen soon after. With that, the surge faded, and SRH was contained to a modest total.

In response, Aiden Markram and Mitchell Marsh provided a composed start, the former particularly authoritative. Though Eshan Malinga dismissed Marsh, the chase never veered off course.

By the time Markram was undone by Shivang Kumar’s wrong’un in the 10th over, LSG was cruising towards victory. A struggling SRH bowling line-up persevered, triggering a brief wobble and dragging the game right down to the wire. But Pant’s measured, unbeaten 68 ensured there was no late drama. The skipper took LSG home with a boundary aimed at his dugout with just a ball to spare.