Rajasthan Royals Defend Low Total to Beat Lucknow Super Giants by 40 Runs
Rajasthan Royals defeated Lucknow Super Giants by 40 runs at Ekana Stadium. Led by Riyan Parag, Rajasthan bowled really well and defended a very low score. It was a strong comeback win for them. They now have 5 wins this season and move to 2nd place in the points table. LSG and RR both came into this game after losing multiple games on the bounce.
LSG put RR to bat first and came out with intent with the ball. Mohammed Shami struck twice in the third over to send Yashasvi Jaiswal and Dhruv Jurel back to the pavilion in successive deliveries. Before getting out, Jaiswal was involved in a 32-run opening stand with Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. However, RR kept losing wickets at regular intervals and were reeling at 77/5 just after the halfway mark.
Sooryavanshi struggled big time tonight, with Mohsin Khan bowling a wicket maiden inside the powerplay. Parag and Shimron Hetmyer got the starts, got into the 20s, but failed to rebuild the sinking ship. Ravindra Jadeja took the responsibility and held an end up, managing two important partnerships with Donovan Ferreira (20 off 19) and Shubham Dubey (19* off 11), who was used as an impact sub. Jadeja (43* off 29) hit his first boundary in the last over, in which he took down Mayank Yadav and helped RR to finish with a competitive 159/6 in 20 overs.
Rajasthan Royals Defend Low Score to Beat LSG by 40 Runs
Shami (2/30), Prince Yadav (2/29) and Mohsin (2/17) were superb for LSG, while Mayank went for 56 in his four overs on his return. Digvesh Singh Rathi didn't pick any wickets but kept things tight. Just like the Royals, the Super Giants were rocked early, with Ayush Badoni, Rishabh Pant and Aiden Markram all getting dismissed for ducks. Badoni was run out in the first over. Pant played a poor shot, attempting a sweep off Nandre Burger's 142.7 kph ball outside off and edged behind the stumps. Markram was caught off guard in the next over, bowled by Jofra Archer.
RR were all over LSG at 11/3 when Nicholas Pooran and Mitchell Marsh looked to rebuild. Pooran scored 22 off 25 balls, but his struggles continued as Jadeja took care of him just before the halfway mark. Marsh was the lone warrior and scored his first fifty of the season. The Australian tried to keep LSG in the hunt with two vital partnerships with Pooran and Himmat Singh, but was deceived by Burger's slower ball in the 16th over.
Post that it happened quickly as LSG's lower order fell like ninepins and were bundled out for just 118 with two overs to spare. RR were forced to use only five bowlers, but that was more than enough for the inaugural champions. Archer finished things off with 3/20, while Burger snapped 2/27. Brijesh Sharma took two wickets in one over, dismissing Mukul Choudhary and Mohammed Shami. Jadeja and Bishnoi joined with a wicket each in the middle overs.
