In a thrilling encounter at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, the Lucknow Super Giants defeated the in-form Rajasthan Royals by 10 runs in Match 26 of TATA IPL 2023. LSG, who had lost their previous match against the Punjab Kings, bounced back strongly with a disciplined performance with the bat and ball.
The Rajasthan Royals won the toss and opted to bowl first against the Lucknow Super Giants. The Royals got off to a decent start as Trent Boult bowled an impressive first over, conceding just one run. Yashasvi Jaiswal dropped Rahul at extra cover when he was on six, giving the Super Giants a reprieve. Sandeep Sharma made a good comeback and conceded just four runs in the over.
Mayers and Rahul then went on the attack, with Mayers hitting a six and Rahul hitting a four off Boult’s bowling. Holder dropped Rahul at mid-off, giving him another life. The pair accumulated 18 runs in R Ashwin’s over but couldn’t get the better of Ashwin himself, who varied his pace and length and gave away just five runs in the next over. Holder finally got his man, catching Rahul at long-on for 39 runs. Ayush Badoni came in next but was dismissed for just one run by Boult.
Mayers continued to play well and brought up his fifty off 40 balls, hitting a couple of fours off Chahal’s bowling. However, he was caught by Shimron Hetmyer at deep square leg off Ashwin’s bowling. Ashwin then bowled a beauty to dismiss Mayers for 51 runs.
Padikkal was brought in as the Impact Player in the 16th over, replacing Chahal. Marcus Stoinis hit a four off Sandeep Sharma’s bowling in the next over but the bowler bounced back well to concede just four runs off the remaining five balls.
Nicholas Pooran injected some momentum into the Super Giants’ innings, hitting two fours and a six to take 17 runs off the penultimate over. However, the away side lost three wickets, including two run-outs, in the final over and could only manage 8 runs off it to finish on 154/7.
RR’s chase of 155 started well, with openers Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal providing a steady start. Jaiswal got into the groove early and smacked a four and a six in the second over from Yudhvir Singh, which saw him bowl five wides as well and concede 16 off the second over. Buttler then hit a 112m six, off Yudhvir, and the pair went after Avesh Khan, hitting him for three fours to make the most of the last over of the Powerplay as RR reached 47/0.
LSG introduced Amit Mishra as their Impact Player in the 9th over, replacing Kyle Mayers. Buttler and Jaiswal took a patient approach, hitting an odd four in an over as RR moved at around seven-and-a-half an over. LSG then clawed their way back into the match with three quick wickets.
Things slowed down, and the pressure got to the in-form Shimron Hetmyer (2 off 5) as he holed out to long on, off Avesh Khan in the 16th over. With 42 needed off 18, Impact Player Devdutt Padikkal hit three fours in an over off Stoinis to bring the equation down to 29 needed off 12.
Naveen-ul-Haq started off the penultimate over well, giving away just five as the required rate crept over 10 an over. Riyan Parag swung the next one over deep mid-wicket for a six, but Afghanistan pacer Naveen-ul-Haq finished well, giving away just one off the last two balls.
With 19 needed off six, Riyan Parag cracked the first ball of the final over from Avesh Khan over backward point for a four.
Avesh then provided a crucial moment as he had Padikkal (26 off 21) caught behind off the next ball as the equation came down to 14 off 3. Deepak Hooda then pulled off a brilliant catch under the pressure of Dhruv Jurel at the long on the fence as Avesh Khan scalped two wickets in two balls. The last two balls brought just three as LSG won the match by 10 runs.
