IPL 2025: Avesh’s final over heroics defy Jaiswal-Vaibhav’s hitting, RR fall 2 runs short against LSG

JAIPUR: A fantastic last over by Avesh Khan helped Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) defy some serious hitting by Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Suryavanshi and stand-in skipper Riyan Parag as Rajasthan Royals (RR) fell short by two runs at their home venue of Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Saturday.

RR is at eighth spot with two wins and six losses, whereas LSG is at fourth spot with five wins and three losses.

During the run-chase of 181 runs, RR was off to a fine start thanks to openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Suryavanshi, the latter starting his IPL career with a huge six over covers on the very first ball he faced.

Suryanvanshi continued to take down Avesh Khan, while Jaiswal took down Shardul Thakur and Aiden Markram with some audacious sixes. RR reached their 50-run mark in 4.3 overs.

At the end of six overs, RR was 61/0, with Jaiswal (40*) and Suryavanshi (21*) unbeaten.

The duo took on the spin duo of Ravi Bishnoi and Digvesh Rathi well, but the part-time spin of Markram was what spelt the end of Suryavanshi, who scored 34 in 20 balls, with two fours and three sixes. RR was 85/1 in 8.4 overs.

Jaiswal continued his fine run of form, scoring his fourth fifty in 31 balls, with three fours and three sixes.

On the final ball of the 10th over, Nitish Rana fell to Shardul Thakur for eight in seven balls. RR was 94/2 in 10 overs.

A massive six by stand in skipper Riyan Parag over deep backward square leg took RR to the 100-run mark in 11.1 overs.

At the end of 15 overs, RR was 135/2, with Jaiswal (67*) and Parag (24*) making sure RR was on track run-rate-wise. With a reverse-hit that went for a four, Parag helped RR reach the 150-run mark in 16.1 overs.

The 62-run stand between Parag and Jaiswal ended as the latter was cleaned up by Avesh for 74 in 52 balls, with five fours and four sixes. RR was 156/3 in 17.1 overs. Avesh ended the over with the wicket of skipper Riyan for 39 in 26 balls, with three fours and two sixes. RR was 161/4 in 18 overs.
The equation went down to nine runs in the final over after Prince Yadav’s 19th over went for 11 runs, boosted by Shimron Hetmyer’s two fours.

However, Avesh managed to defend it, giving one run, two runs, the wicket of Hetmyer (12), zero, two runs and one, helping LSG win the game by two runs, stopping RR at 178/5, with Dhruv Jurel (6*) and Shubham Dubey (3*) unbeaten.

Avesh delivered a fantastic four-over spell of 3/37, while Markram and Shardul took one each.

Earlier, blistering fifties from Aiden Markram and Ayush Badoni, embellished by Abdul Samad’s flashy cameo in the end, lifted Lucknow Super Giants to 180/5 against Rajasthan Royals.

It was a gripping affair between the bat and ball as the Super Giants and the Royals fought for control on a scorching night in Rajasthan. LSG found solace in Markram and Badoni’s fifties, while Rajasthan found success in Wanindu Hasaranga’s spin web.

After winning the toss and opting to bat, the Super Giants tried to capitalise on the opportunity by using their in-form deadly opening duo to reap success. Markram drew the first blood by dispatching the ball for back-to-back fours in the opening over to extract 12 runs out of Jofra Archer’s over.

The English tearaway returned to haunt the opening pair by luring Mitchell Marsh to sky it a mile up in the air and hole it to Shimron Hetmyer. LSG’s explosive and Orange Cap holder Nicholas Pooran stepped on the crease to ensure his side maintained a healthy run flow.

The Caribbean received a lifeline after Shubham Dubey gobbled up the chance and floored the opportunity, denying Archer his second scalp of the day. But Sandeep Sharma outfoxed the in-form Pooran (11) and trapped him in front of the stumps to get rid of LSG’s prime weapon.

Skipper Rishabh Pant put up another scratchy performance, which added to LSG’s rising woes. As runs started to dry up from his bat, he thought out of the box and tried to take on Wanindu Hasaranga with a reverse sweep. He went for it but edged it straight to Dhruv Jurel behind the stumps and returned cheaply on three after consuming nine deliveries.

Ayush Badoni and Markram launched a counterattack by raising a 76-run partnership for the visitors. The duo entertained the crowd by putting up a wide array of shots on display. The South African sprinted for three and brought up a valiant half-century, and Badoni topped it up by attacking Sandeep and picking up two fours on the trot in the 11th over.

The threatening partnership eventually met its end after Markram (66) holed it straight to Rajasthan’s stand-in captain Riyan Parag, handing Hasaranga his second of the game. Badoni continued to test Rajasthan’s limits and brought up his fifty with a cheeky shot that raced away to the boundary rope for a four.

On the next delivery, he tried to clear the boundary rope but sent it straight to Shubham Dubey. An expression of satisfaction took over Dubey as he made ammends for dropping Pooran earlier. Abdul Samad’s (30* from 10 deliveries) fireworks in the final over saw him tonk four towering maximums, which propelled LSG to 180/5. (ANI)