Following his side’s 10-run win over Rajasthan Royals (RR) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) skipper KL Rahul said that though his side fell 10 runs short with the bat, their bowling made up for it and no dew made the match fair for both the teams.

Avesh Khan’s last-over heroics sealed the 10-run victory for Lucknow Super Giants against Rajasthan Royals in a thrilling encounter in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Wednesday. “In the 10 over mark, the message me and Kyle sent out was 160 would be a good total on this track, they have some good bowlers as well who exploited the conditions. We fell 10 short but made up with the ball. And there was no dew so made it fair for both teams. We came in here yesterday and saw 180 would be a par score, but the first over from Boult, me and Kyle had a chat and realised this is not a 180 wicket. The ball was keeping a bit low, so we gave ourselves time in the powerplay. Maybe if we played a bit better, we might have got 170 as well. I think that run-out from the impact player (Mishra), and two wickets falling back to back gives the opposition (his own team) a chance. We know with Rajasthan their strength is their top four, so we needed to have our plans in place to get them out,” said Rahul in a post-match presentation.

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After being put to bat first by RR, LSG posted 154/7 in their 20 overs. Kyle Mayers (51 in 42 balls, with four boundaries and three sixes) and Rahul (39 in 32 balls, with four boundaries and a six) added 82 runs for the first wicket.

Following that, LSG lost some quick wickets but a 45-run stand for the fifth wicket between Nicholas Pooran (29 in 20 balls, with two fours and a six) and Marcus Stoinis (21 off 16 balls with two fours) helped LSG reach a modest total.

Ravichandran Ashwin was the pick of the bowlers for RR, taking 2/23 in four overs. Trent Boult, Sandeep Sharma and Jason Holder also took one wicket each while delivering economical spells.

In the chase of 155, RR started strongly, posting 87 run partnership for the first wicket. Openers Yashasvi Jaiswal (44 in 35 balls with four boundaries and two sixes) and Jos Buttler (40 off 41 balls, with four boundaries and a six) did not play their usual aggressive cricket but still laid down a good foundation.

However, the run-out of skipper Sanju Samson (2) changed the match, giving LSG a chance to make comeback with some quick wickets. Even the finisher Shimron Hetmyer (2) failed with the bat. Devdutt Padikkal (26 in 21 balls, with four boundaries) and Riyan Parag (15* in 12 balls) tried to win it for their side, but fell 10 runs short, finishing at 144/6 in their 20 overs.

Avesh Khan was the pick of the bowlers for LSG, making a comeback with a spell of 3/25 in four overs. Stoinis also took 2/28 in his three overs.

Stoinis was given the ‘Player of the Match’ award for his all-round performance.

Despite this loss, RR retains its top spot in the points table, having won four matches and lost two. They have a total of eight points. Though LSG has the same win-loss record and points as RR, an inferior net-run-rate has them placed second in the points table.

Brief Scores: Rajasthan Royals 144/6 (Yashasvi Jaiswal 44, Jos Buttler 40 and Avesh Khan 3/25) vs Lucknow Super Giants and Lucknow Super Giants 154/7 (Kyle Mayers 51, KL Rahul 39 and Ravichandran Ashwin 2/23) vs Rajasthan Royals.