IPL: Jofra Archer shines as Rajasthan Royals thrash Lucknow Super Giants by 40 runs

LUCKNOW: A complete dominating bowling display from Rajasthan Royals (RR) cruised them to a commanding 40-run victory over Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) on Wednesday in Lucknow.

RR speedsters Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger and Brijesh Sharma led from the front, scalping 8 wickets combined between them. Archer was the star bowler for RR, as he grabbed three wickets. He now becomes RR’s leading wicket-taker with 68 scalps, surpassing Shane Watson’s tally of 67.

Mitchell Marsh was the lone warrior for LSG, as he made a decent half-century; the rest of the Lucknow batters struggled to score runs. With this win climbs to second spot in the IPL points table with 10 points after seven fixtures, while LSG stays in 9th position, struggling to grab those two important points.

A clinical bowling display to defend the lowest total this season @rajasthanroyals get back to winning ways with a 40-run victory

Scorecard https://t.co/5SaPY8wfsc #TATAIPL | #KhelBindaas | #LSGvRR pic.twitter.com/xv53u4tQVg

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 22, 2026

Chasing a modest target of 160, Mitchell Marsh and Ayush Badoni opened the innings for Lucknow Super Giants. Marsh started aggressively, taking on Jofra Archer in the opening over, but LSG suffered an early setback as Badoni’s innings was cut short by an unfortunate run-out.

Nandre Burger also piled on the pressure over LSG, removing Rishabh Pant for a duck in the following over. Archer struck in the following over, sending back Aiden Markram to the pavilion for a six-ball duck, bringing Nicholas Pooran to the crease.

Marsh and Pooran steadied LSG’s innings, adding a vital 43-run stand for the fourth wicket, before Ravindra Jadeja removed Pooran for 22, who was struggling to put bat on ball, bringing in impact sub Himmat Singh at the crease.

Himmat failed to show any impact as he was removed to run a ball 15 by Ravi Bishnoi in the 15th over. In the following over Marsh, the lone warrior with the bat for LSG raised his bat as he raced past fifty after smashing a six off Burger.

Burger struck back immediately as he removed Marsh for 55. In the next over, Brijesh Sharma gave LSG a double blow as he got the better of Mukul Choudhary and Mohammed Shami. Archer, in the following sealed the deal for RR, scalping two wickets in the over, removing Mayank Yadav and Mohsin Khan to hand over the Royals a 40-run victory.

Earlier in the match, a superb bowling display from LSG speedsters Mohammed Shami, Prince Yadav and Mohsin Khan restricted RR to 159/6. Ravindra Jadeja top-scored for RR, smashing 43 off 29 to take his side to a fighting total after early setbacks. For LSG, Shami, Yadav, and Khan took two wickets each, while Mayank Yadav and Digvesh Rathi went wicketless.

Asked to bat first, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi opened the innings for Rajasthan Royals, with Jaiswal and Sooryavanshi once again setting the tone early by racing to 20 in just two overs with their trademark aggression.

However, veteran pacer Mohammed Shami turned the game on its head, delivering a double blow, first dismissing the in-form Jaiswal for 22 after conceding two consecutive boundaries, and then removing Dhruv Jurel for a golden duck on the very next delivery.

Mohsin Khan also made an impact by dismissing the dangerous Sooryavanshi for 8 after building pressure with five consecutive dot balls. Following the early setbacks, skipper Riyan Parag and Shimron Hetmyer steadied the innings for Rajasthan Royals, rotating the strike effectively while finding boundaries at regular intervals.

The duo added crucial runs before Riyan Parag was dismissed by Prince Yadav for 20 at the end of the ninth over. Parag’s lean run in IPL 2026 continues, with the Rajasthan Royals skipper still struggling to find consistency with the bat.

Shimron Hetmyer shifted gears in the following over, taking on Mayank Yadav and smashing him for 14 runs to revive the Rajasthan Royals’ innings. However, Mohsin Khan struck back in the very next over, getting the better of Hetmyer for 22 and bringing Donovan Ferreira to the crease.

As a 33-run partnership was getting strong between Ferreira and Ravindra Jadeja, Prince Yadav struck, removing Ferreira for 20, bringing Impact Player Shubham Dubey to the crease. Mohsin Khan continued his impressive spell, maintaining tight control and conceding just six runs in the 17th over.

Rathi completed his spell with a slightly expensive over as Dubey finally breaks the shackles, picking up a boundary with an outside edge over backward point in the 18th over. Dubey took on Prince Yadav in the 19th over, hitting him for two fours. Jadeja finally opened up his arms in the last over and smashed 20 runs in the final over to take RR to 159 in their 20 overs. (ANI)