RR vs LSG: Lucknow Super Giants beat Rajasthan Royals by 10 runs

Last night’s contest of RR vs LSG was a low-scoring match compared to most games this season. Lucknow Super Giants batted first and got off to a great start as captain KL Rahul and Kyle Mayers built a dominating opening partnership of 82 runs, before Rahul got dismissed on 39 off 32. Thereon, the entire top and middle order started collapsing as Ravichandran Ashwin and Trent Boult launched a fierce attack. Aayush Badoni and Deepak Hooda were dismissed in quick succession. Marcus Stoinis and Nicholas Pooran stuck held their ground for a while but could not handle the pressure and got out soon after. Despite the wonderful opening partnership and Mayers’ splendid fifty, Lucknow only managed to reach 154 in 20 overs.  

Rajasthan Royals were in a great position after their comeback and opened well in the second innings. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Butler started smashing boundaries one after the other; while Jaiswal hit 4 fours and 2 sixes to reach 44, Butler reached 40 runs from 4 fours and 1 six. However, Marcus Stoinis came to Lucknow’s rescue and quickly dismissed both of them. This stopped Rajasthan’s onslaught as Avesh Khan ran through their middle order. Despite being close to their target, Rajasthan’s run rate drastically slowed down, and they eventually plummeted to 144 runs in 20 overs, falling short of just 10 runs.  

Marcus Stoinis was awarded ‘Player of the Match’ for his terrific bowling and adding some key runs for his team with the bat. The next match will be played between Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Banglore.