Watch cricket video highlights between Rajasthan Royals vs Lucknow Super Giants. Indian Premier League 2024 fourth match, played at Jaipur.
The Rajasthan Royals defeated the Lucknow Super Giants by 20 runs in Jaipur to begin their IPL season, thanks in large part to the captain Sanju Samson’s unbeaten 82 off 52 balls.
Samson’s knock, after winning the toss for his side, was the cornerstone of the Royals’ formidable 193 for 4, and when Trent Boult and Nandre Burger reduced LSG to 11 for 3 in the first four overs of their reply, a close match hadn’t looked in the slightest.
Sandeep Sharma struck with a superb run of death bowling that left LSG with too much to do, but KL Rahul, on his comeback from injury, linked up with Nicholas Pooran to push the chase deep in a fifth-wicket partnership of 85 from 52 balls that concluded from the first delivery of the 17th over.
Sandeep’s last over, which came with 38 required from 12 balls, was maybe even more crucial since he restricted the hard-hitting Pooran to only two boundaries in an 11-run over, giving Avesh Khan enough opportunity to finish the match. Pooran scored 64 from 41 balls to finish undefeated.
Samson is undoubtedly skilled at kicking off an IPL season in style. He started the Royals’ account with a half-century for the fifth time in as many IPL campaigns, going back to 2020. This time, the innings featured three fours and six sixes, the greatest of which came from the final delivery of the session and was a brilliant inside-out drill over extra cover from Mohsin Khan.
The majority of Samson’s work was completed during a 93-run stand between him and Riyan Parag, which lasted 62 balls and ended the powerplay. During that time, Yashasvi Jaiswal’s more concentrated cameo of 24 from 12 balls and Jos Buttler’s streaky 11 from nine balls had hinted at a potentially tricky pitch for easy strokeplay.
LSG’s spinners undoubtedly gained some traction on the dry, fractured surface. On his 33rd birthday, Krunal Pandya sailed through his four boundary-free overs for 19 runs, and when he produced a leading edge back down the pitch, he had the opportunity to dismiss Parag for a golden duck. However, Samson, the non-striker, stood his ground with the ball lobbing towards his helmet, and unintentionally got in the way.
But following the tactical time-out, when Yash Thakur’s added pace entered the game, both players increased their effort. In a 21-run over, Samson blasted three sixes, including back-to-back pulls off undercooked bouncers. In the 11th over, he brought the Royals to 100 with another six off Ravi Bishnoi, and Samson proceeded to reach his fifty from 33 balls. By then, Parag ought to have been out for 29, but Mohsin at square leg made a mess of a top-edged sweep.
First-over wickets and brute force are IPL mainstays. At the peak of the powerplay, he targeted Quinton de Kock this time, his 24th victim overall (second only to Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s 27), which precipitated a disastrous top-order implosion for LSG.
De Kock’s solitary scoring stroke was a sophisticated punch down the leg to a full-length outswinger, but in the same over, Boult launched one into his legs, luring Burger at backward fine leg with a careless flip in the air.
After he reached his second wicket, Boult struck again, giving Devdutt Padikkal a vicious one-two to make sure his reunion with his former Royals teammates was not a good one. From deep in the crease, Boult’s follow-up slipped through low and pinned back Padikkal’s middle and leg stumps as he fluttered loosely across the line. A stinging bouncer had pinged Padikkal’s helmet and sent his neck-guard spinning.
One ball into the fourth over, Burger—the most literal impact substitute one could imagine—bobbled a ball at 147 kph, which Ayush Badoni could only spoon to Buttler at mid-off. This was the low point for LSG. The comeback would have to be spectacular at 11 for 3.
Rahul is having a difficult moment in all forms. He had appeared destined to be the seasoned veteran in India’s Test team without Virat Kohli, but his sudden injury against England allowed the same group of young players to take his place in the white-ball lineup as well.
Thus, even though his dismissal at the beginning of the 17th over, caught at deep cover moments after the strategic time-out, marked the end of LSG’s challenge, with Marcus Stoinis and then Pandya failing to find their timing from the outset, his innings of 58 from 44 balls served as a poignant reminder of his enduring class. It might be argued that his decision to accept the gloves before Quinton de Kock and Pooran was an indication of his intention to show the India selectors his continued flexibility.
In any case, Rahul’s knock gave his side the much-needed solidity while it lasted, as well as the ability to keep pace with a run rate that was approaching two per ball by the tenth over. His contribution up to that moment had been a run-a-ball 26. However, he signaled a charge that would not abate until he left by smashing the hazardous Burger for 6, 4, 4 from his next three deliveries.
The impact substitute for LSG, Deepak Hooda, has also come and gone with some purpose. He scored 26 off of 13 balls before facing Yuzvendra Chahal into the breeze and getting out at deep midwicket. But Pooran’s more concentrated strength was what really sparked his team’s faith.
Boult returned for his last over as the Royals attempted to take the wicket that would break the partnership at 102 for 4 in the twelfth over. In a 20-run over that ended with a low full-toss hammered over wide long-on for six, Pooran was waiting to remove him.
But Sandeep was still pulling strings for Samson, and his entrance was crucial. With just five singles in his first over, which came in the fifteenth over of the innings, he stopped the flow of boundaries, one of which may have been a run-out by direct hit. And the Royals had taken back control when Rahul followed his wide line in his second over to pick out Dhruv Jurel in the deep.
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