Solid half-centuries from captain Sanju Samson (71* off 33) and Dhruv Jurel (52* off 34) coupled with some excellent Powerplay and slog-overs bowling helped Rajasthan Royals pull off their fourth win in a row as they beat Lucknow Super Giants by seven wickets in Match 44 of the TATA IPL 2024 at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow.

The bowlers, led by Sandeep Sharma (2/31), made an impressive comeback to restrict LSG to 196/5 after KL Rahul and Deepak Hooda had resurrected the home side from 11/2 in the second over with a brilliant 115-run stand for the third wicket.

Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler set the platform in the chase with a brisk 60-run stand from 5.4 overs. Samson and Jurel then put on a splendid 121*-run stand to take the visitors past the finish line after RR had stuttered following three quick wickets.

Chasing 197, the openers - Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal - got the visitors off to a breezy start, adding 60 from just 5.4 overs. Jaiswal set the tone in the first over, smacking a six and a four down the ground off Matt Henry. The duo added power and panache with their strokeplay and seven fours and two sixes in their partnership. KL Rahul then brought Yash Thakur in the crucial sixth over, and he bounced back hard to provide the first breakthrough, cleaning up Jos Buttler after being hit for a couple of fours in the over. RR got a second in quick succession as Marcus Stoinis struck off his very first ball, having Jaiswal caught at deep cover.

YORKED ⚡️

Yash Thakur strikes at the stroke of Powerplay 👍
#RR 60/1

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— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 27, 2024

Riyan Parag walked in as the Impact Player, replacing Yuzvendra Chahal. A couple of tight overs followed before LSG brought on Amit Mishra as the Impact Player, replacing Quinton de Kock. Riyan Parag hammered him for a six first ball, but the veteran spinner hit back hard, having Parag caught at deep cover off a flighted delivery next ball.

Krunal then bowled a frugal over, giving away just three. Dhruv Jurel and captain Sanju Samson released the pressure valve, hitting 29 off the next two overs. But Krunal kept things right and gave away just five in the next over. 

🎥 Left handed Sanju Samson 🔁#RR skipper switching on gears with that switch hit 🩷 🔥

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— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 27, 2024

With 82 needed off 42, Jurel hit the fifth gear, smashing a couple of fours and a six off the first three balls of Mohsin. But he got lucky off the next as Yash Thakur dropped one at short third man. Thakur was in action again off the last ball as he dived full length but couldn't hold on to a tough chance off an outside edge from Jurel. RR got 20 off the eventful over. Had Thakur taken the catch, things might have been different. It was a one-way traffic from then on. 

Krunal bowled another decent over, giving away nine and finishing off with 4-0-24-0 but Samson welcomed Ravi Bishnoi into the attack with a couple of fours and a six to take 16 off it. LSG had another sniff in the 18th over when a huge miscommunication between Jurel and Samson presented the home side with a chance to break the stand, but LSG couldn't make the most of it and allowed Jurel to get back at the non-striker's end. Samson added salt to LSG's wounds, smacking a six next ball to bring up his fifty off just 28 balls. Jurel, too, reached his maiden IPL half-century in the same over. The duo stitched a 121*-run stand as RR cruised to a win in style with Samson cracking a four and a six to finish it off in style.

𝗦𝗺𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝗮𝗺𝘀𝗼𝗻 💪

The #RR skipper ensuring his team get over the line in Lucknow 🩷#TATAIPL | #LSGvRR | @rajasthanroyals pic.twitter.com/7syPfrSuFR

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 27, 2024

Earlier, Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson won the toss and elected to field. And as always, Trent Boult, struck in the first over, dismissing Quinton de Kock off the third ball of the match. It was a cracking start to the match as Boult induced an outside edge off De Kock off the first ball via an outswinger which flew past the second slip for a four. De Kock flicked the next ball for a four. But Boult bounced back to clean him up off the next ball via a beauty which knocked down the off stump. Sandeep Sharma produced another beauty as he castled the last match centurion and hero Marcus Stoinis for a duck. 

Just Trent Boult things 🤷

Wicket in his very first over, again 🩷

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— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 27, 2024

KL Rahul and Deepak Hooda then began the resurrection process and did it in style with a superb 115-run stand. The duo played some delightful, risk-free shots,  with Rahul taking the attack to Avesh Khan, hitting a couple of sixes and a four to make it 21 off the 8th over. The pair kept chipping away with fours as Rahul brought up his fifty off 31 balls and Hooda got to his half-century off 30 balls.

Samson brought back Ashwin and the bowling change worked as he broke the 115-run stand by having Hooda (50 off 31) caught at long on. It brought the visitors back into the match. RR pulled things back a bit, and then Sandeep came back to get the vital wicket of Nicholas Pooran. With the platform set, LSG would have been looking for a strong finish, but the RR bowlers didn't allow the batters to get sustained momentum. Avesh got the crucial wicket of Rahul (76 off 48) in the 18th over.

Plan Worked ✅

Rajasthan Royals control the run flow with some smart tactics 🫡

Captain KL Rahul departs after a composing innings!

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— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 27, 2024

Krunal Pandya and Ayush Badoni's 23-run stand for the sixth wicket took LSG to 196/5. However, RR bowled well in the slog overs as they conceded 55/2 in the last six overs.