Rajasthan Royals became the 2nd team to qualify for the playoff stage after Delhi Capitals 19 run win over Lucknow Super Giants played at Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi on 14th May 2024. LSG captain KL Rahul won the toss and decided to field first. It was an ideal start as Arshad Khan got rid of Jake Fraser McGurk in the first over itself caught at long-on.
Abhishek Porel and Shai Hope took charge of putting pressure on LSG bowlers with some lovely shots against Arshad Khan and Naveen UL Haq. At the end of the first six overs, DC ended at 73 for 1. Abhishek Porel looked impressive with fifty off 21 deliveries. Hope’s impressive innings came to an end with a stunning catch by KL Rahul. Hope and Porel added 92 runs for the 2nd wicket.
LSG bowlers controlled the run flow with disciplined bowling. Pant and Stubbs steadied the ship adding 47 runs for the 4th wicket. Stubbs increased the tempo with some lusty shots in the final few overs keeping momentum going for DC. Stubbs reached fifty off 22 balls. Axar Patel and Stubbs added an unbeaten 50 runs for the 5th wicket that helped DC post 208 for 4 in 20 overs.
In reply, Lucknow Super Giants got off to the worst possible start as KL Rahul, Quinton de Kock, Marcus Stoinis and Deepak Hooda fell cheaply. Nicolas Pooran showed intent against Axar Patel keeping momentum going for LSG. At the end of the first six overs, LSG scored 59 for 4.
Tristian Stubbs got the big wicket of Ayush Badoni to leave LSG in trouble. Pooran looked impressive with fifty off just 20 deliveries. LSG kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Arshad Khan showed his class keeping the momentum going for LSG along with Yudhvir Singh.
Khaleel Ahmed struck to dismiss the dangerous Yudhvir Singh. Yudhvir and Arshad Khan added 33 runs for the 8th wicket. Arshad Khan scored his maiden IPL fifty off 25 balls. It was a tough task as LSG scored 189 for 9 in 20 overs. Ishant Sharma grabbed three wickets to dent LSG’s chances of winning the match.
Rajasthan Royals did well throughout the season
Rajasthan Royals became the 2nd team to qualify for the playoff stage. They will look to stop the slide of losing three previous matches so far. RR played a total of 12 matches so far with 8 wins and 4 losses.
The previous three losses came against Sunrisers Hyderabad by 1 run, Delhi Capitals by 20 runs, and Chennai Super Kings by 5 wickets. RR will be without Jos Buttler for the remainder of the season due to international commitments. They will look to win the match against the Punjab Kings and gain confidence for playoff matches.
Rajasthan Royals’ first loss in the tournament came against Gujarat Titans. Sanju Samson would look to showcase his domination and help RR stop the slide of losing 3 matches in a row.
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