Lucknow Super Giants captain K.L. Rahul plays a shot during the Indian Premier League 2024 against Rajasthan Royals in Lucknow on April 27, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Sanju Samson (71 n.o., 33b, 7×4, 4×6) and Dhruv Jurel (52 n.o., 34b, 5×4, 2×6) scripted Rajasthan Royals’ umpteenth turn of the plot this Indian Premier League, and took the table topper to a seven-wicket victory over Lucknow Super Giants at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Stadium here on Sunday.

Joining forces at 78 for three, in a chase of 197, their unbeaten 121-run fourth-wicket association put the Royals on the brink of playoffs qualification.

Jurel enjoyed the rub off the green when he was put down twice by Yash Thakur in Mohsin Khan’s over. The fate of the contest was all but sealed when Samson pocketed two maximums in Mohsin’s next.

At the outset, Yashasvi Jaiswal laid down the marker with some lofted shots off Matt Henry on either side of the sight-screen. While Jos Buttler was slow off the blocks, a ramp shot off Henry in the fourth over got him going.

Though the visitors wiped off 60 runs in the PowerPlay, its openers falling in the space of three deliveries forced a recalibration. Riyan Parag, however, could not resist the tempting flight of Amit Mishra and miscued his heave to deep cover in the ninth over, after which Jurel and Samson took over.

In the first essay, K.L Rahul (76, 48b, 8×4, 2×6) staved off early hiccups and heralded another recovery job in the company of Deepak Hooda (50, 31b, 7×4).

Rahul and Hooda combined for 115 runs for the third wicket after Trent Boult and Sandeep Sharma’s new ball exploits plundered the Lucknow top order. Rahul flexed his mobility when he fashioned a slog sweep and breached the fence despite losing balance and falling down off R. Ashwin.

Hooda flaunted his deft off-side range, punching Boult through covers and backward point off identical lengths. It took a carrom ball from Ashwin to fox Hooda who holed out at long on.

A final flourish was on the cards when Ayush Badoni fancied his chances and switch hit Ashwin for four. But a bouncer from Avesh that led Rahul to pick the fielder at third man left LSG wanting for more.

Lucknow Super Giants players celebrate their win over Chennai Super Kings. They will up against the high-flying Rajasthan Royals in Lucknow on April 27, 2024.
| Photo Credit: ANI

Far from the pack occupied in the mid-table scrap for the playoffs spots, Rajasthan Royals will indulge itself in the prospect of strolling its way in when it visits Lucknow Super Giants at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Stadium in Lucknow in the Indian Premier League (IPL) on April 27.

Runaway leader Rajasthan has won all three away games so far, and a fourth triumph will take its tally to 16 points, all but sealing a place in the playoffs.

Yashasvi Jaiswal regaining his mojo with an unbeaten 104 in the nine-wicket mauling of Mumbai Indians wiped out the only blemish in the Royals’ top-order. Captain Sanju Samson would hope to emulate his exploits (82 n.o., 52b) from the Royals’ 20-run victory over the Lucknow side earlier this season.

But Super Giants, high on the twin triumphs over Chennai Super Kings (CSK), will be no pushovers. The side will wait with crossed fingers for Mayank Yadav’s return from injury. The pace phenom bowled in the nets on the match eve.

Taking cognisance of Rahul and Marcus Stoinis’ telling contributions in the Super Giants’ two wins, another leg-spinner, Yuzvendra Chahal, could be Royals’ go-to deployment too. This IPL, Rahul’s strike-rate has dipped to 93 against leg-spin while Stoinis has fallen to spinners five times in eight innings.

Lower down the order, Royals will seek a solution for Nicolas Pooran. The southpaw has salvaged his side by injecting momentum, hitting at a strike-rate of nearly 170 — the highest for a Lucknow batter.

Teams (from):

Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson (c), Jos Buttler, Shimron Hetmyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Donovan Ferreira, Kunal Rathore, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Sen, Navdeep Saini, Sandeep Sharma, Trent Boult, Yuzvendra Chahal, Avesh Khan, Rovman Powell, Shubham Dubey, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Abid Mushtaq, Nandre Burger, Tanush Kotian, Keshav Maharaj.

Lucknow Super Giants: Quinton de Kock, KL Rahul (c & wk), Deepak Hooda, Ayush Badoni, Marcus Stoinis, Nicholas Pooran, Krunal Pandya, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohsin Khan, Shamar Joseph, Yash Thakur, Manimaran Siddharth, Prerak Mankad, Arshad Khan, Krishnappa Gowtham, Amit Mishra, Kyle Mayers, Ashton Turner, Matt Henry, Naveen-ul-Haq, Devdutt Padikkal, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Mayank Yadav and Arshin Kulkarni.

Match start time: 7.30 PM (IST).