All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja stole the show with the bat and ball to help RR dispose of LSG in Lucknow. Ravindra Jadeja meant business and came out to bat at the right time as he thrashed the LSG bowlers towards the end. Jadeja made a crucial unbeaten 43 off 29 balls while others made 20s as RR crawled their way to 159/6 in 20 overs.
In reply, Mitchell Marsh scored a gritty half-century but RR had the last laugh with Jofra Archer picking up 3 wickets while Nandre Burger and Brijesh Sharma picked up 2 wickets apiece. Ravindra Jadeja, after his stellar knock with the bat, chipped in with the ball as he finished with 1/29 in 4 overs. The LSG team were eventually bowled out for 119 in 18 overs. RR won a great game by 40 runs to move to 2nd in the points table. ,
Disciplined bowling restricts RR to 159/6 in 20 overs
Put into bat first, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi came out to bat for RR while Mohammed Shami had the ball in hand for LSG. Jaiswal managed to get off to a fast start, while Vaibhav was going slowly and getting fewer strikes. The duo put on 32 for the first wickets inside 3 overs before Jaiswal fell for 22 off 12 balls with 4 fours to his name to Mohammed Shami. Keeper batter Dhruv Jurel came and went first ball for a golden duck, getting the outside edge as the catch was taken easily by Pant.
Captain Riyan Parag came out to bat next. Vaibhav too fell at the same score in the next over as he fell for 8 off 11 balls with 2 fours to his name to Shami yet again. Shimron Hetmyer came out to bat next. Parag and Hetmyer tried to forge a partnership, both going slowly, and a rebuilding phase was on. The power play score was 44/3 in 6 overs.
The duo of Parag and Hetmyer added 30 runs for the fourth wicket before Parag, the captain, fell for 20 off 19 balls with 2 fours and one six to his name. Ravindra Jadeja came out to bat next in the middle overs to join Hetmyer in the middle. Jadeja was slow off the blocks while Hetmyer tried to hang in there. The duo added 15 runs for the 5th wicket before Hetmyer fell for 22 off 18 balls with 2 fours and one six to his name.
Donovan Ferreira came out to bat next. Ferreira, known as the finisher, tried to set the tempo for the innings. They tried to forge in another stand and added a useful 33 runs for the 6th wicket before Ferreira fell for 20 off 19 balls with 2 fours to his name. Impact Player Shubham Dubey came out to bat next.
Dubey played a few shots, and so did Jadeja, who got into the groove slowly. He was struggling for the initial part of the innings. Dubey played some lusty blows while Jadeja was steady in his innings. The duo added 49 runs off the last 25 balls as RR finished with a competitive 159/6 in 20 overs. Jadeja, with the lusty blows towards the end, has given RR hope as the southpaw made an unbeaten 43 off 29 balls with 2 fours and one six to his name, while Dubey was unbeaten on 19 off 11 balls with 3 fours to his name. RR finished with 159/6 in 20 overs. 5 extras given by the fielding side.
It was a disciplined bowling display by the RR bowlers. Mohsin Khan was the most economical and picked up 2/17 in 4 overs. Prince Yadav finished with 2/29 in 4 overs. Mohammed Shami finished with 2/30 in 4 overs. Digvesh Rathi finished with economical figures of 0/26 in 4 overs, while Mayank Yadav finished with 0/56 in 4 overs. This meant that LSG, the home team, needed 160 runs to win off 20 overs to get a much-needed win for them.
Jofra Archer stars with a 3-wicket haul as RR thrash LSG by 40 runs
Chasing 160 for the win, Mitchell Marsh and Ayush Badoni came out to open for LSG, while Jofra Archer had the ball in hand for RR. Marsh started quickly off the blocks. Marsh scored 9 runs in the first over. The duo also put on 9 runs for the first wicket, with Badoni being dismissed for a golden duck thanks to a runout. Rishabh Pant came out to bat next. Just one run was added to the tally before Pant fell for a bronze duck to Nandre Burger. Aiden Markram came out to bat next. Just one more run was added for the third wicket before Markram fell for 0 off 6 balls to Archer.
Nicholas Pooran came out to bat next and was going slowly. It was a struggle for the West Indian batter. Marsh looked fluent out there. LSG were 31/3 in 6 overs of power play. Marsh and Pooran tried to forge a stand to bring the team back on track. They added 43 runs for the 4th wicket before Pooran fell for 22 off 25 balls with 3 fours to his name to Ravindra Jadeja. Impact Player Himmat Singh came out to bat next.
Himmat showed his impact out there. Marsh too got to his half-century as he held the innings together. Marsh and Himmat tried to take the game deep and added 37 runs for the 5th wicket before Himmat fell for 15 off 15 balls with one six to his name, to Ravi Bishnoi, who cleaned him up. Mukul Choudhary came out to bat next. Mukul hit a maximum to get going.
The duo added 14 runs for the 6th wicket before Marsh fell for 55 off 41 balls with 6 fours and 2 sixes to his name to Burger. Mohammed Shami came out to bat next and struck a maximum as well down the ground over the bowler’s head. The duo added 6 runs to the tally before Mukul fell for 7 off 3 balls with one six to his name to Brijesh Sharma. Mayank Yadav came out to bat next.
Just 2 runs were added to the tally before Shami fell for 6 off 4 balls, with one six to his name to Brijesh Sharma. Digvesh Rathi came out to bat next. A maximum was hit on the ground. Just 6 runs were added to the tally before Mayank fell for 5 off 5 balls with one four to his name to Archer. Mohsin Khan came out to bat next. Mohsin fell for a bronze duck to Archer, who had two wickets in the over. Rathi remained unbeaten on 2 off 2 balls while Mohsin remained unbeaten on 0 off 3 balls. 7 extras given by the fielding side as LSG were bowled out for 119 in 18 overs.
For RR, Jofra Archer was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3/20 in 4 overs. Nandre Burger finished with 2/27 in 4 overs. Brijesh Sharma finished with 2/18 in 3 overs. Ravindra Jadeja finished with 1/29 in 4 overs. Ravi Bishnoi finished with 1/23 in 3 overs. So, RR won this contest easily by a comprehensive 40-run margin to climb to 2nd in the points table. Ravindra Jadeja was awarded the Player of the Match award.
What Lies Ahead
So, RR climbs to second in the points table with this impressive win, while LSG stays in 9th place. These two teams will play a reverse fixture on Saturday night in Jaipur. The next game is the biggest and greatest rivalry as 5-time champions MI takes on 5-time champions CSK in Mumbai. MI have got the mojo back and will start as favourites against CSK. CSK has all to do in this one. Let’s see how things unfold tomorrow in Mumbai.
Also Read:Â LSG vs RR: Disciplined Display Led By Mohsin Khan Restricts RR To 159/6