Rajasthan Royals (RR), on Sunday (March 24), beat Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) by 20 runs to start their campaign in IPL 2024 with a win. Set a target of 194, LSG finished their innings on 173 for 6 despite half-centuries from KL Rahul and Nicholas Pooran.
LSG were off to a poor start. Quinton de Kock was dismissed by Trent Boult in the very first over. In his second over, Boult struck again to send back Devdutt Padikkal and reduced LSG to 10 for 2. One run later, debutant Nandre Burger dismissed Ayush Badoni for just 1.
Deepak Hooda added some needed impetus to the chase by playing some big knocks but did not last long. He scored 26 off 13 runs before Yuzvendra Chahal dismissed him to leave LSG reeling at 60 for 4. It was followed by a fine stand of 85 runs between Rahul and Nicholas Pooran that brought back LSG into the game.
After a cautious start, Rahul opened his arms while Pooran went for the big shots right from the word go. Sandeep Sharma broke the stand by dismissing Rahul for 58. Soon after Rahul’s departure, Pooran completed his fifty off just 30 balls before LSG suffered another blow as Marcus Stoinis was dismissed for 3. In the end, LSG needed 27 runs off the final over but could manage only six runs.
RR innings:
Earlier in the match, RR scored 193 for 4 in the allotted 20 overs after their captain Sanju Samson won the toss and opted to bat first. The Royals were off to a shaky start as both of their openers failed to score big and departed inside the powerplay.
Jos Buttler was the first to go after edging Naveen-ul-Haq’s delivery behind the stumps. The England captain departed for 11 before being joined by Yashasvi Jaiswal in the dressing room. Jaiswal, who recently scored more than 700 runs against England in the Test series, departed after scoring 24 to leave his team reeling at 49 for 2 in the fifth over.
Sanju Samson and Riyan Parag then helped RR recover with a big stand of 93 runs. Both the batsmen mixed caution with aggression to keep their team on track for a big total. Samson reached his fifty off 33 balls while Parag missed his fifty by seven runs. Naveen-ul-Haq sent him back for 43 in the 15th over.
Shimron Hetmyer could not do much and departed for just 5 but Samson stayed till the end to ensure RR finish with a good total. He and Dhruv Jurel shared an unbeaten stand of 43 runs for the fifth wicket. Samson remained unbeaten on 82 off 52 balls with the help of three fours and six sixes while Jurel remained unbeaten on 20.
Here is how X (formerly Twitter) reacted to the match:
Let’s go RR the chase for the trophy begins with a win against LSG @rajasthanroyals
— Anirban (@Anirban12021) March 24, 2024
#IPL2024 #04#RRvLSG #LSGvRR#LSG: body language described their loss today. The wrong batting order & low energy on the field cost the match.#RR: good to see how everyone knows their role & fulfils their responsibilities accordingly. All boxes tick for the #sanjusamson‘s team. pic.twitter.com/ePMiavlsDR
— Aayush Mittal (@immaayush) March 24, 2024
RR beat LSG by 20 runs .
Take a bow , Sandeep Sharma .#RRvLSG #IPL2024 #SanjuSamson pic.twitter.com/WwbkRhpDeC
— Satish Mishra 🇮🇳 (@SATISHMISH78) March 24, 2024
From being a young power play bowler for the Kings XI to a seasoned death bowler for the Royals via that excellent stint with the Sunrisers, Sandeep Sharma has been an IPL Star.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) March 24, 2024
First game, first win. Halla Bol, Rajasthan! 🔥💗
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) March 24, 2024
Let’s go RR the chase for the trophy begins with a win against LSG @rajasthanroyals
— Anirban (@Anirban12021) March 24, 2024
#IPL2024 #04#RRvLSG #LSGvRR#LSG: body language described their loss today. The wrong batting order & low energy on the field cost the match.#RR: good to see how everyone knows their role & fulfils their responsibilities accordingly. All boxes tick for the #sanjusamson‘s team. pic.twitter.com/ePMiavlsDR
— Aayush Mittal (@immaayush) March 24, 2024
RR beat LSG by 20 runs .
Take a bow , Sandeep Sharma .#RRvLSG #IPL2024 #SanjuSamson pic.twitter.com/WwbkRhpDeC
— Satish Mishra 🇮🇳 (@SATISHMISH78) March 24, 2024
https://twitter.com/SachinP70358514/status/1771899171567542664?t=HnG13w5pbIxpBNYOYXQVsg&s=19
Spider Cam cable broke down during the IPL match between RR & LSG at Jaipur
— Zubair Ali Khan (@ZubairAlikhanUN) March 24, 2024
Sanju Samson playing on the back foot vs spinners is a master class. Well played. #RRvLSG
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) March 24, 2024
Sanju Samson in full flow is an absolute treat to watch. Hope he converts this half century to 💯
— Prasanna (@prasannalara) March 24, 2024
Riyan parag will have a breakthrough season…
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) March 24, 2024
What has happened to Riyan Parag. Did you unleash a beast?
— Bhawana (@bhawnakohli5) March 24, 2024
Riyan Parag has set himself up for a good story with all those trolling, now all he needs is to keep delivering with the bat.
— Silly Point (@FarziCricketer) March 24, 2024
KLassic 50 just when the team needed it!! @LucknowIPL needs @klrahul to bat deep to take them through.
— Robin Aiyuda Uthappa (@robbieuthappa) March 24, 2024
Nicky Pooran for LSG in Chases since last season pic.twitter.com/WIdZws1qGZ
— arfan (@Im__Arfan) March 24, 2024
Nicholas Pooran is an absolute madman. LSG’s game now!
— Silly Point (@FarziCricketer) March 24, 2024
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