M Siddharth Plucks A Beauty To Send Abhishek Packing (Source: Screengrab from IPL website)
On Sunday afternoon, Manimaran Siddharth came to Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) playing XI against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Match 10 of IPL 2026 at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad.
The 27-year-old, who was previously part of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Delhi Capitals (DC), made headlines immediately, although it was not his primary skillset, which is bowling, which helped him hog all the limelight.
It all happened after Rishabh Pant won the toss and asked SRH to bat first in Hyderabad. Mohammed Shami, who got KL Rahul’s wicket on his first ball in his previous outing, carried on the momentum.
Both Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma struggled to bat with comfort against Shami, and it was Abhishek, the No. 1 T20I batter in the world, who had to fall for a two-ball duck.
Nevertheless, M Siddharth would like to take a good amount of credit to help Shami get Abhishek Sharma’s wicket.
Abhishek Sharma Perishes To Mohammed Shami
It was a nice change of pace by Shami, who bowled as slow as 114.9 kph to complete the first over of SRH’s innings. Abhishek could not read it, and thus, he could only find a thick outside edge.
Placed at short third, Siddharth dived forward to hold onto an excellent catch, and therefore, Abhishek had to depart cheaply in front of the jam-packed SRH crowd.
Also Read: SRH vs LSG Toss: Liam Livingstone Included; Rishabh Pant Wins The Toss, Opts To Bowl
Notably, M Siddharth came into LSG playing XI vs SRH in place of South Africa's Anrich Nortje. The South African pacer conceded 39 off his four overs against DC in a match when all other pacers breathed fire.
Who Is Manimaran Siddharth?
Manimaran Siddharth is a slow left-arm orthodox bowler from Tamil Nadu, who plays for the state as well as in the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL).
While he played for DC, KKR before joining LSG as previously mentioned, he represented Chepauk Super Gillies and Lyca Kovai Kings in TNPL.
Moreover, despite the fact that Siddharth was part of KKR and DC, he made his IPL debut for LSG in 2024.
Since then, he has played six matches for the Sanjiv Goenka-owned franchise and picked up three wickets at an economy rate of 8.62.
In T20s, Manimaran Siddharth has claimed 24 wickets across 17 matches, conceding 6.41 runs an over.
SRH Struggling Against LSG After Abhishek's Wicket
Since SRH lost Abhishek Sharma, the Orange Army has been unable to hold the fort. The likes of Travis Head, Ishan Kishan and SRH debutant Liam Livingstone failed to last long, as Mohammed Shami, as well as other LSG bowlers, wreaked havoc to fall the star-studded SRH batting unit like a pack of cards.
At the time of writing this, SRH are 31/4 after nine overs, with Nitish Kumar Reddy and Heinrich Klaasen in the middle, on 3* and 5* respectively. Shami, meanwhile, returned exceptional figures of 4-0-9-2.
Also Read: IPL 2026: SRH vs LSG Prediction, Match 10- Who Will Win Today?
