JAIPUR: Half-century from Kyle Mayers guided Lucknow Super Giants to a score of 154/7 in 20 overs against Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 at Sawai Mansingh Indoor Stadium on Wednesday.
LSG skipper KL Rahul and in-form batter Kyle Mayers failed to provide a quick start. Boult kicked off the game with a maiden over. KL Rahul struggled throughout the powerplay, but he continued to survive as RR fielders continued to drop catches. In the fourth over Yashasvi Jaiswal dropped Rahul’s catch for the first time.
In the very next over Jason Holder failed to keep hold of the ball in his hands. LSG ended the powerplay with a score of 37/0.
Rahul decided to capitalize on the opportunity that was knocking on his door again and again. Along with Mayers, he went on a rampage, as both batters started to deal in boundaries. Rahul struck a 103-meter six on Yuzvendra Chahal’s fifth ball of the ninth over.
With a score of 79-0 after 10 overs, LSG were eying a score of 180 to 200 runs. But their fortune soon started to change as Holder came into the attack to find a breakthrough for Rajasthan. The West Indian all-rounder redeemed himself by picking up the wicket of Rahul for a score of 39(32).
Trent Boult followed up with a strong comeback as he claimed the wicket of dangerous Ayush Badoni cheaply for a score of 1(4).
Ravichandran Ashwin came in the attack to ensure Rajasthan maintained control over LSG after picking up the crucial wicket. Within a single over he claimed the wickets of Deepak Hooda and in-form batter Kyle Mayers for scores of 2(4) and 51(42) respectively.
After losing four quick wickets in the middle over Marcus Stoinins and Nicholas Pooran came in to take LSG’s total to a defendable score. Both batters stayed on the pitch till the final over, scoring boundaries on every single possibility, keeping the scoreboard ticking.
Stoinis lost his wicket on the third ball of the final over. Sandeep Sharma finally got the reward for his efforts. He kept the final over economical as he conceded 8 runs in the final over. The final two balls witnessed two consecutive run-outs as Pooran and Yudhvir Singh lost their wickets with scores of 29(20) and 1(1) due to exceptional fielding efforts.
Brief Scores Lucknow Super Giants 154/7 (Kyle Mayers 51(42), KL Rahul 39(32) and Ravichandran Ashwin 2/23) vs Rajasthan Royals. (ANI)