Rajasthan Royals defeat LSG by 7 wickets while chasing 197 runs
Rajasthan Royals beat Lucknow Super Giants by 7 wickets to qualify for the playoffs. With eight victories and sixteen points from nine games, RR became the first franchise to make the playoffs. Chasing 197, Yashasvi Jaiswal (24), Jos Buttler (34) and Riyan Parag (14) all left in rapid succession. However, skipper Sanju Samson and Dhruv Jurel both scored fifty to seal the win. Samson’s fourth half-century of the season propelled Rajasthan to 199-3.
Chasing 197, Samson and Jurel put up an unbeaten 121 runs for the fourth wicket to complete the chase in 19 overs. Earlier, KL Rahul smashed a 48-ball 76 and Deepak Hooda got 50 off 31 balls to help Lucknow Super Giants to a respectable 196 for 5 against Rajasthan Royals. LSG put up a challenging total after being sent in to bat, thanks to Rahul and Hooda’s 115-run third-wicket partnership. Sandeep Sharma was RR’s most successful bowler, finishing with stats of 2/31.
Rajasthan openers Yashasvi Jaiswal (24) and Jos Buttler (34) knocked off 60 runs from the goal unharmed, but their team struggled in the following overs and lost three wickets in rapid succession. Buttler walked across his stumps to miss Thakur’s angled full ball, which landed on the leg stump for the first breakthrough.
Marcus Stoinis bowled an unassuming delivery outside off to encourage a free-flowing Jaiswal to go for it. The left-hander obliged but failed to connect, finding Bishnoi at the deep point. LSG’s tactics to tie the Royals down with leg-spin were clear when 41-year-old Amit Mishra came on as an impact substitute and claimed the expensive scalp of Riyan Parag (11) in his first over. Rajasthan dropped from 60 for no loss to 78/3 after nine overs, and Jurel and Samson began their recovery job to get the team back on track.
The victory increased Rajasthan’s lead to 16 points, six ahead of the second-best Kolkata Knight Riders, and moved them closer to being the first side to make the playoffs in the 17th season. If the present mid-table confusion is any indication, the play-off cut-off for this year will be 18 points.
LSG remained fourth with 10 points in the bag.
Sanju Samson,Rajasthan Royals captain, Player of the Match: “There was purchase with the new ball and when the ball got old, it was a nice wicket to bat on. It was a very good team effort. The guys who come in and bowl the crucial overs, that is also important. They know what to do each ball, there is a lot of planning going on behind the scenes and we are doing well. At the start and at the end. In the middle overs, they took the game a little away from us. Form is temporary and batting at No.5 is the toughest job in T20 cricket. A youngster like him, he has the composure as we have seen in Tests. We believed in him, he has been batting in the nets for one or two hours and we knew it was a matter of time. We have been doing well. We have been a little lucky as well. We have to stick to the right processes. Mistakes are supposed to happen in T20 cricket, and we reiterate to stick to the process. The results are coming our way, so it is clear that we are doing something right. Next game, one game at a time.”
KL Rahul, Lucknow Super Giants captain: “We left about 20 runs out there. We did not get off to an ideal start but the partnership me and Hooda had…more crucial for the set batters to make their 50-60s into hundreds. They bowled well in the last couple of overs. We were in a good position and should have capitalised more, and got 20-25 runs more. It has become clearer that the team that hits more sixes wins the game. The ball has been travelling and it has been hard on them. Not much chat about it. Before the game, the ball will be flying all over the place and everyone loves their range hitting. Every team does it and we are no different. We try to clear the boundaries and get used to hitting big sixes. In our team, the big hitters are Stoinis and Pooran, and we rely on them to clear these big boundaries. The other guys, like us, we try to time it and pick our spots. I felt hitting fours and picking up twos was better. We were hoping to use Bishnoi in the later half. They kept putting us under pressure, and could not find a time to bring him on and by the time I brought him on, it was late. Plan was to keep him for late, and keep him for when Rovman and Hetmyer come out to bat.”
Dhruv Jurel: “I wanted to finish off the game whenever I got a chance. It is a curse and a blessing to be batting in this position. I was just trying to stay till the end and back my shots. In the middle overs, when the fielders are back, you have to pick your shots. At the start, my shots were hitting the fielders. Then I talked to Sanju bhai, and he told me to not pre-meditate and play the ball according to its merit. Then it started flowing. I do it for my father, did that in the Test matches also for him. Got an opportunity today to do the salute in front of him and that was for him.”
BRIEF SCORES:
Lucknow Super Giants: 196 for 5 in 20 overs (KL Rahul 76, Deepak Hooda 50; Sandeep Sharma 2/31).
Rajasthan Royals: 199 for 3 in 19 overs (Sanju Samson 71 not out, Dhruv Jurel 52 not out; Amit Mishra 1/20).
