Finance
In Jaipur, Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Sunday, Rajasthan Royals beat Lucknow Super Giants by 20 runs to start their IPL campaign with a victory. Sanju Samson, the captain of RR, scored an undefeated 82 in 52 balls as they amassed 193 for four. Nicholas Pooran’s flawless 64 off 41 balls in response proved in vain as LSG concluded at 173 for 6. Captain KL Rahul consumed a lot of deliveries with a calm 58 off 44 balls.
Trent Boult struck twice in his successive overs, removing Quinton de Kock and Devdutt Padikkal, as the Lucknow Super Giants faltered early in the inning while attempting to chase the mark of 194, which was set up by an unbeaten 82 by captain Sanju Samson and 43 by Riyan Parag. After being hit for four by de Kock, Boult recovered with a fullish delivery outside leg in his opening over, and Nandre Burger made a simple catch at fine leg.
Then, with Padikkal playing in his first inning for LSG, Boult replaced him for a duck. This time, the experienced New Zealand paced angled it into the left-hander a little bit closer to the shorter end of the length. The ball bounced back after being pitched on or near the stump, and came back in while not entirely taking off from the pitch. Padikkal had shaped to swipe – perhaps seeing the length – and so it was too late by the time he tried to bend.
Nandre Burger, who came in as an Impact Player then removed Ayush Badoni for one run.
After the early setback, Deepak Hooda and skipper K.L. Rahul pulled LSG back into the game as they both stitched a partnership collecting boundaries and maximums. Hooda’s first two scoring strokes were a six and a four in consecutive balls as he used Burger’s pace to pick the deep third boundary before Rahul recovered from another helmet-thumping bouncer from Boult to slog-sweep R. Ashwin over deep midwicket for six. LSG finished the Powerplay at 47 for 3.
Yuzvendra Chahal struck in his first over to extend his lead at the top of the IPL all-time wickets stats. It was an appropriately breezy knock from Hooda, 26 from 13 all told, including a second six over deep midwicket off Avesh Khan. But his attempt to charge Chahal failed, as Dhruv Jurel judged well to take the catch, five metres in from the rope.
Halfway through, Lucknow was 76 for 4, with Pooran making his first six after he had survived a diving attempt by Riyan Parag at far off. However, Burger delivered a costly third over, giving up 17 runs, including two fours and a six from Rahul, so the chase was far from finished.
When Boult came back for his fourth and last over, he gave up 20 runs, two maximums, and a boundary. Rahul, on the other hand, needed 35 balls to get his fifty. A superbly calibrated countermovement to that powerplay explosion.
Conversely, Pooran rotated the strike with caution and batted wisely. Rajasthan maintained their competitiveness by limiting the run-rate to about two runs per ball. Following the tactical pause, KL Rahul appeared hurried and took on the wide line from Sandeep Sharma and picked out Jurel in the covers. Rahul got out for a well-made 58 from 44, ending a stand of 85 from 52, as Marcus Stoinis joined the battle.
Marcus Stoinis has to go hard from the get-go, and Ashwin’s carrom-ball had his measure. A slog to deep midwicket brought Krunal Pandya to the middle as Stoinis went back to the pavilion scoring just three off four deliveries.
Sandeep Sharma bowled a brilliant 19th over, giving just 11 overs, leaving Avesh Khan to defend 27 in the final six balls. Avesh was outstanding with his wide outside yorker and delivered on the captain’s expectations as he gave only six runs. It was an anticlimactic end for the Giants as they lost the match by 20 runs.
The Royals began the competition with a victory thanks to Sandeep Sharma’s great performance at a critical point in the match. Boult was excellent once more during the powerplay, and Ashwin, albeit a little pricey, claimed the crucial wicket of Stoinis. The Royals put up an outstanding team display, and they will now play the Delhi Capitals in Jaipur on March 28.
Brief score:
Rajasthan Royals 193/4 in 20 overs (Sanju Samson 82 not out, Riyan Parag 43; Naveen-ul-Haq 2-42, Ravi Bishnoi 1-38) beat Lucknow Super Giants 173/6 in 20 overs (Nicholas Pooran 64 not out, KL Rahul 58; Trent Boult 2-35, Sandeep Sharma 1-22) by 20 runs.
Source:IANS
