IPL 2023: Lucknow Super Giants defeat Rajasthan Royals by 10 runs
Jaipur, 19th April 2023: Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) defeated Rajasthan Royals (RR) by 10 runs at Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, after scoring 155 runs while batting first. Avesh Khan collected three wickets while Stoinis took two.
KL Rahul (39) and Kyle Mayers (51) gave Lucknow Super Giants a good start, but the Rajasthan Royals bowlers staged a comeback. The RR bowlers strategically bowled, preventing LSG from scoring big. Trent Boult and R Ashwin bowled bravely.
Despite having big hitters like Marcus Stoinis and Nicholas Pooran on the field, LSG could not set a big target for RR. Ashwin took two wickets for 23 runs, and Lucknow could only score 154 for a loss of seven wickets.
Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler made LSG tense as they got off to a cautious start. RR added 47 runs in the power play. The pair patiently added runs to RR’s tally, scoring 73 runs in ten overs. The partnership was broken at 87 runs, with Marcus Stoinis dismissing Yashasvi (44). Sanju Samson (2) was run out. Stoinis then sent back RR batsman Buttler (40), and within 10 runs, RR’s three big batsmen were back.
RR needed 51 off 30 balls, with Shimron Hetmyer and Devdutt Padikkal, an Impact Player for the match, on the field. Avesh Khan dismissed RR’s match finisher Hetmyer (2) on the very first ball of the 16th over, and KL Rahul took a good catch. RR got a boundary after 32 balls. With 42 runs from 18 balls, the match was slowly slipping away from Rajasthan. Devdutt showed a glimmer of hope by scoring 13 runs in the 18th over. Stoinis took two wickets for 28 runs.
Riyan Parag hit a six in the 19th over and scored 10 runs, and RR needed 19 runs off six balls. Riyan pulled the first ball for a boundary. Devdutt (26) and Dhruv Jurel (0) were dismissed by Avesh Khan on consecutive balls. RR then needed 14 runs in two balls. Avesh missed the hat trick, but he won the match for LSG. Rajasthan managed to score 144 for a loss of six wickets, and Lucknow won the match by 10 runs.
