RR vs LSG HIGHLIGHTS: Sanju Samson’s Innings Leads Rajasthan To Win Over Lucknow In IPL Campaign Opener

RR vs LSG HIGHLIGHTS: Rajasthan Royals (RR) beat Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) by 20 runs in their Indian Premier League (IPL) opener at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Sunday (March 24). The Men in Pink won the toss and opted to bat first at their home venue. The Royals then proceeded to post a formidable 193/4 before restricting Lucknow to 174, to clinch the match.

RR got off to a brisk start, courtesy of Jos Buttler (11 off 9) and Yashasvi Jasiwal (24 off 12). However, LSG then chipped in with 2 wickets inside the powerplay with Buttler falling to Naveen-ul-Haq and Jaiswal falling prey to Mohsin Khan. However, a partnership between Samson (82* off 52) and Riyan Parag (43 off 29) helped RR comeback into the match. The duo added 93 runs off 59 balls, the highest partnership in the match, to take RR to a position of solidity.

While Samson and Parag were out there, it seemed like the Royals could even get past the 200-run mark. However, LSG did own a passage of game when they got rid of Parag, who fell to Naveen and Shimron Hetmyer, who was dismissed by Ravi Bishnoi in quick succesion. Dhruv Jurel (20* off 12) then joined Samson and their partnership worth 43* off 22 took Rajasthan to 193/4 in their 20 overs.

Boult, Burger Reduce LSG To 11/3 In 194 Chase

In the second innings, Trent Boult and Nandre Burger reduced LSG to 11/3 in their chase of 194. Boult (2/35) got rid of Qution de Kock and Devdutt Padikkal while Burger (1/30) removed Ayush Badoni. However, KL Rahul (58 off 44) and Deepak Hooda (26 off 13) first took the innings deep before Nicholas Pooran’s stand with Rahul kept them alive in the chase. Pooran was the aggressor and eventually remained unbeaten on 64 off 41 but with little support from others, it did not prove to be enough. R Ashwin, Sandeep Sharma and Yuzvendra Chahal picked up a wicket each with Sandeep proving to be miserly with the ball in the death, going at 7.33 runs per over in his 3-over spell.