JAIPUR: In a low-scoring, scrappy affair, with Rajasthan Royals requiring 19 runs off the last over, Lucknow Super Giants pacer Avesh Khan held his nerve to help his side eke out a 10-run victory on a slow SMS Stadium pitch here on Wednesday.
Jos Buttler (40 off 41 balls) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (44 off 35 balls) gave Royals a solid start but after Jaiswal's dismissal, Sanju Samson was involved in a needless run-out which derailed the chase on a pitch on which the big hits were hard to come by. Subsequently, the responsibility of taking the side home landed on the young shoulders of Devdutt Padikkal and Riyan Parag, but the duo fell just short.
Avesh finished with the figures of 4-0-25-3, which included the wickets of Padikkal and Dhruv Jurel in the 20th over.
When the chase of 155 began, Jaiswal and Buttler's calm and unhurried approach ensured Royals scored 47 runs in the Powerplay and no wicket was lost till the 12th over. But the tables turned soon after. Marcus Stonis broke the 87run stand, with Jaiswal cutting him to Avesh's hands at short-third. Two overs later, the run-out happened as some initial hesitation led to skipper Samson's failure to make his ground.
1/10:IPL 2023: Lucknow Super Giants edge Rajasthan Royals
ANI
2/10:Marcus Stoinis
<p>Marcus Stoinis and Avesh Khan shared five wickets between them as Lucknow Super Giants defended 154 to defeat Rajasthan Royals by 10 runs on Wednesday. </p>PTI
3/10:Kyle Mayers
<p>West Indies big-hitter Kyle Mayers top-scored with 51 and Stoinis contributed 21 in Lucknow's total on a tough batting pitch in Jaipur. </p>PTI
4/10:Trent Boult
<p>Rajasthan began the match with a maiden over from Trent Boult, who returned figures of 1/16. </p>IANS
5/10:Ravichandran Ashwin
<p>Ravichandran Ashwin took two wickets, including the dangerous Mayers after the opener struck his third fifty of the season following a sluggish start. </p>AFP
6/10:KL Rahul
<p>Captain KL Rahul was the first to go after an unconvincing 39 in a 82-run opening stand with the left-handed Mayers. </p>PTI
7/10:Crucial runs
<p>Stoinis and West Indies star Nicholas Pooran, who hit 29, put on 45 runs for the fifth wicket to help the team cross 150. </p>PTI
8/10:Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler
<p>Rajasthan were coasting along before they lost Yashasvi Jaiswal, skipper Sanju Samson, run out on two, and Jos Buttler in the space of three overs. </p>IANS
9/10:Stoinis strikes
<p>Stoinis broke a promising opening stand of 87 between Jaiswal (44) and Buttler (40). </p>AP
10/10:Avesh Khan
<p>LSG pacer Avesh Khan returned figures of 3/25. </p>ANIButtler departed in the very next over while attempting a pull, becoming Stoinis' second victim of the day. Shimron Hetymer, the hero of the Royals' previous game, was dismissed cheaply by Avesh.
Earlier, the Rajasthan Royals bowlers appeared to have contained the Lucknow Super Giants batting lineup, restricting them to 154/7, but the total proved beyond the Rajasthan batters.
It was Trent Boult at the start and Ravichandran Ashwin in the middle who made life difficult for the opposition batters. Bowling tidy wicket-taking spells, seamer Boult recorded figures of 4-1-16-1 while Ravichandran Ashiwn returned with 4-0-23-2.
Facing Boult's inswingers after being made to bat first, LSG skipper KL Rahul and power-hitter Kyle Mayers had little scope to take off from the word go as the seamer started with a maiden over. He followed it up with an equally stingingthird over that saw Mayers eke out only two runs. This ensured LSG had a sedate start that saw them score only 37 runs in the Powerplay.
After the initial struggle, Mayers and Rahul could flex their muscles somewhat, taking Jason Holder and Yuzvendra Chahal to the cleaners. LSG had scored at only 6.16 by the six-over mark, but the strike rate shot up to 8.22 by the 9th over. But Holder made quick amends to snare Rahul's wicket with a slower ball, the skipper being dismissed for 39 off 32 balls in the 11th over, holing out to Buttler at long-on. The subsequent over saw youngster Ayush Badoni (1 off 4 balls) falling prey to Boult. He was clean bowled while attempting a scoop.
The floodgates were now open. The out-of-form Deepak Hooda's stay lasted for four balls as he perished while attempting a slog sweep off an Ashwin delivery in the 14th over. LSG's only hope was Mayers, who looked threatening for a while, but in the same over, Ashwin pinned him down as well with a quick off-break delivery. The West Indian was dismissed for 51 off 42 balls.
