The 20th match of the 2022 Indian Premier League concluded with the Rajasthan Royals coming out on top by three runs against the Lucknow Super Giants in a thriller.
Put into bat by the tournament newcomers, Royals were off to a decent start with Jos Buttler and Devdutt Padikkal adding 42 for the first wicket. However, wickets fell quick, and they were reduced to 64-3 in nine overs with all of Buttler, Padikkal, Sanju Samson and Rassie van der Dussen back in the pavilion.
Shimron Hetmyer and Ravichandran Ashwin had a brilliant 68 run stand which helped the Jaipur based franchise to post a good score on the board. Hetmyer, who was dropped earlier in the innings by Krunal Pandya, hampered the LSG as he could capitalize on that by smashing a 36 ball 59, which included six sixes.
Ashwin supported well with his contribution being 28 off 23 before retiring out, the first such instance of that nature in the history of IPL cricket. RR would end up posting 165, which was a decent total to defend given the quality bowling attack they had.
Lucknow Super Giants’ innings got off to a terrible start thanks to Trent Boult, who produced two beautiful deliveries to get both captain KL Rahul and K Gowtham out in the first over. Jason Holder, who came in at No. 3, didn’t last longer either, as he would be dismissed for eight while LSG struggled at 14-3.
Quinton de Kock and Deepak Hooda had a good 38-run stand but that came to an end when Hooda was bowled by the youngster Kuldeep Sen. Ayush Badoni, who had a good couple of matches, failed to make an impact today as he was also dismissed cheaply. Both de Kock and Krunal stitched a 27 run partnership, but they would eventually be gone in the 15th over bowled by Yuzvendra Chahal.
Marcus Stoinis, who came in late at No. 8, was the only hope left for the Lucknow franchise. He would mostly satisfy those expectations by bringing the equation down to 15 off the final over.
However, Sen’s excellent first four balls in the last over meant that the game was over, with the Australian striking a four and a six in the final two deliveries to make the difference smaller. Stoinis’s lone hand couldn’t help LSG cross the line as the Royals went on to win this nail-biting encounter by three runs.
Brief scores
Rajasthan Royals 165-6 (Hetmyer 59*, Padikkal 29, Ashwin 28, Chameera 4-0-22-0, K Gowtham 4-0-30-2, Holder 4-0-50-2) beat Lucknow Super Giants 162-8 (De Kock 39, Stoinis 38*, Boult 4-0-30-2, Ashwin 4-0-20-0, Chahal 4-0-41-4) by three runs
