JAIPUR, April 20 (IANS) Rajasthan Royals had an 87-run opening partnership between Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler, but fine performances by the Lucknow Super Giants bowlers, led by Avesh Khan’s 3/25 and Marcus Stoinis’ 2/28 helped their side win Through ten runs in the IPL 2023 match at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, here on Wednesday.
At the halfway point of the game, Rajasthan kept Lucknow to 154/7 despite Kyle Myers making 51 and it seemed to be an under-par total on a two paced field.
Till the end of the 11th over, Rajasthan had not lost a single wicket and seemed to be heading towards the target. But Stoinis taking out both openers got the match for Lucknow as Rajasthan lost four wickets for 32 runs from 12-17. The Lucknow bowlers used great leg-side conditions and boundaries to dry runs with a high run rate required, which saw Rajasthan eventually finish at 144/6 in 20 overs.
Lucknow Super Giants’ win also helped them tie with Rajasthan on points and retain second place in the points table. He also accounted for 154/7, the lowest total defended for the season so far.
After chasing 155, Jaiswal looked good by driving Yudhvir Singh through cover for four and then quickly picked the short ball for a drawn six. Butler, after his initial struggles, found his combination by hitting Yudhvir for a massive 112-metre six.
Jaiswal hit powerfully off a long ball from Avish at the end of the final, and the edge headed towards the right of a short third player, who dropped the ball and conceded four. He also hit a drive for four, followed by Butler pulling the gap through the leg side to hit the third boundary from the over.
After power-playing, Butler bowled Ravi Bishnoi from off-side on a no-ball for four, while sweeping tackle fielder Amit Mishra for two lines. Jaiswal easily dispatched Stoinis, but after two balls the fielder had the last laugh as he batted straight to third man short for a low catch.
From there, it began to unravel when captain Sanjo Samson made a desperate punt late on a diving catch, but fell just a yard short of reaching striker’s end. In the 14th over Butler, while trying to pull Stoinis out, holed himself in the middle of the wicket.
Then, Lucknow struck again when Shimron Hetmyer finished off a big toe long. Devdutt Padikkal broke a spell of 31 no-balls with a punch in Bishnoi for four in overs yielding only six runs.
He then took three boundaries from Stoinis on the 18th, with Gravity being the standout. With 29 needed from the last two balls, Ryan Barrage jumped high for a six, but Right only gave ten runs in the penultimate over.
Because of its sluggish rate, Lucknow can only hold four players outside the 30-yard circle on the final end. Although Parag hit the first ball for four, Avesh bounced back by having Padikkal Nick behind the goalkeeper and Dhruv Jurel trailing long, thus sealing the match in Lucknow’s favour.
Earlier, Lucknow had been pushed to bat first, and had a staid power, making just 37 runs. When Trent Bolt bowled the opening first over, KL’s Rahul and Myers remained wary though as they took boundaries each by Sandeep Sharma in their second.
Rahul got a life in the sixth when Jaiswal put a direct catch on extra cover in the fourth. At the same spot, Rahul would have run out of the yard if Jaiswal had fired at a direct hit.
Rahul had another life at 12 when Jason Holder dropped his loft from the halfway point at five. In the next over, Myers survived a close run at the non-striker’s end as replays showed Ashwin hitting the stumps with his arm.
Lucknow finally began to show signs of intent from the eighth day as Mayers fired a six off Holder long while Rahul pulled him for four. Next over, Myers hit Yuzvendra Chahal for six highs over a long range and swept four straight balls, before Rahul swept the leg spinner for 103 metres.
Rahul’s lucky strike ended in the 11th minute when he let go of a long-time Holder, while Ayush Badoni’s promotion to number three ended in the next when his attempted scoop took off Bolt’s leg.
Myers drove and pulled Chahal for four straight balls before reaching fifty in 40 balls. But Deepak Hooda, playing his 100th IPL match on his 28th birthday, holed a deep square leg off Ashwin. Two balls later, the spinner struck again by castling Myers.
At 129/4 in 18 overs, with the last four overs yielding only 25 runs, Nicholas Poran attacked Holder by serving for a six, followed by pressing and slicing for a four-over brace, with 17 runs coming from the 19th over.
In the end, Sandeep Stoinis surprised with a short ball, which led to the feather edge being caught by Samson. A great direct hit from Samson resulted in Pooran being run out, as it also affected Yudhvir’s run out on the final ball.
Brief scores: Lucknow Super Giants 154/7 in 20 overs (Kyle Myers 51, KL Rahul 39; Ravichandran Ashwin 2/23, Trent Bolt 1/16) beat Rajasthan Royals 144/6 in 20 overs (Yashavi Jaiswal 44, Jos Butler 40; Avesh Khan 3/25, Marcus Stoinis 2/28) by 10 runs.
– Jans
is / ak
