IPL 2024: Sanju Samson's Unbeaten 82 Helps Rajasthan Royals Beat Lucknow Super Giants by 20 Runs

Rajasthan Royals (RR) defeated Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) by 20 runs in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Sunday.

IPL 2024: RR vs LSG – HIGHLIGHTS

Nicholas Pooran’s unbeaten 64 and KL Rahul’s 58 were not enough for LSG as RR clinched the tie rather easily in the end.

Lucknow got off to the worst possible start losing three wickets inside the Powerplay that put them on the back foot in this chase.

Lucknow were off to a poor start with Royals’ overseas left-arm duo of Trent Boult (2/35) and debutant Nandre Burger (1/30), coming on as an impact sub, causing the damage.

On an innocuous delivery straying down wide of the leg stump, Quinton de Kock attempted to clear the ropes off Boult but hit straight to Burger positioned for exactly the same shot for an easy grab.

In his next over, Boult hit Devdutt Padikkal (0) on the helmet off a short ball and got the next one to skid and crash into the middle-stump to knock it out of the ground.

Ayush Badoni (1) then played one straight to Jos Buttler at mid-on off Burger as LSG were left tottering at 11 for three inside the first four overs.

Deepak Hooda came in as an impact sub for LSG and led the recovery for his side, but an increasing asking rate meant risks had to be taken.

The right-hander perished when he attempted to clear the ropes against Yuzvendra Chahal for a 13-ball 26 studded with two sixes and as many fours, having put on 49 for the fourth wicket with Rahul.

With their backs against the wall, Rahul led a robust recovery for LSG in company of Pooran as the two batters raised the hopes of a win with an 85-run stand for the fifth wicket.

Neither Rahul nor Pooran took unwanted risks despite the asking rate hovering around 12 runs an over, and picked their bowlers to attack.

In the 11th over, Rahul went after Burger to hammer 17 runs with a six and two fours off the last three balls and in the 13th, Pooran smacked two sixes and a four off Boult to collect 13 runs.

But Sandeep Sharma (1/22) jolted LSG’s chase with the key wicket of Rahul, getting him caught by Dhruv Jurel at sweeper cover and Ashwin sent back dangerous Marcus Stoinis (3) bu having him caught by Dhruv Jurel at deep midwicket, leaving them with 38 runs to get from last two overs.

The fate of the game was set in the penultimate over when Sandeep gave away only 11 runs even though Riyan Parag spilled a tough chance to get rid of Pooran.

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Electing to bat first on a flat dry wicket, Rajasthan Royals kicked off the proceedings with the dynamic duo of Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal while left-arm pacer Mohsin Khan started the proceedings for LSG. Naveen-ul-haq bowling the second over for Royals drew the first blood for Giants. After conceding two boundaries against Buttler, Haq got rid of the England batter courtesy of a brilliant low diving catch by skipper KL Rahul. The Royals lost their first wicket for 13.

Jaiswal continued his slaughter from the other end as he smashed two consecutive boundaries off Mohsin Khan. The first one was a little full outside off delivery to which Jaiswal thumped down the ground through sweeper cover and the other one was cut down to the deep backward point.

Jaiswal was joined by skipper Sanju Samson who started carefully without taking any risk. However, after a few deliveries, Samson took charge against Khan in the second last over of the Power-play and scored a boundary and a six.

Jaiswal too joined the party and smashed a paddle scoop off Khan behind the wicket for a six. Despite conceding 17 runs, Khan had the last laugh in the over as he sent Jaiswal back.

In another attempt to go big, Jaiswal lost his wicket to Khan, pulling a short and quicker one into the hands of mid-on fielder Krunal Pandya. Jaiswal got out for 24 off 12 deliveries.

Riyan Parag, who came in at No.4, got off to a decent start but soon started changing gears and unleashed some big shots, proving an able partner to skipper Samson.

Parag punished Yash Thakur, his first over costing 21 runs. Both the Royals batter marked their bowlers and took all possible risks to score against them. Ravi Bishnoi was welcomed with a 15-run over by Parag and Samson.

Skipper Samson reached his maiden fifty against Lucknow Super Giants in 33 deliveries. In between this, left-arm unorthodox spinner Krunal Pandya held the game in favour of the Giants. His four-over spell cost just 19 runs and he did not concede a single boundary.

Riyan Parag fell short of his half-century as he was dismissed by Haq, who bagged his second wicket of the evening. The over already saw the Royals batter scoring 14 runs, a boundary, a maximum, and few wides and singles. However, in an attempt to pull a short ball over a deep backward square leg, Parag holed out to substitute fielder Deepak Hooda, getting out for 43.

Parag and Samson added 93 runs for the third-wicket partnership. However, the partnership was marked by three dropped chances by the Giants fielder. Mohsin Khan dropped Parag at 21 and Samson at 36.

Skipper Samson was the key batter for the Royals as he continued to find gaps and score boundaries with ease. His innings of 82 off 52 deliveries were marked with six maximums and three boundaries.

Even though Rajasthan is only 193 for 4, their total is still impressive. Samson’s sixth six of the innings, a brilliant inside-out drive past long-off, ends the match and dents Mohsin Khan’s last over. He had the option to leave the last ball and get out, but he managed to bat it well enough to end up undefeated on 82 from 52 balls—a fantastic captain’s effort.

(With inputs from Agencies)