Fresh off a terrific win over Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) were given a brutal reality check as they went down to Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Jaipur. RR, who had not won in Jaipur this season got the most important win and boosted their chances of playoff berth. Destiny is in RR’s hands. LSG were already knocked out earlier and were playing for pride. They did well most parts but fumbled when key moments were up for grabs. We will try and find out why they lost to RR last night.
Nicholas Pooran’s sluggishness alongside Rishabh Pant’s cost LSG extra 15-20 runs
LSG were put into bat first by RR who were led by stand-in skipper Yashasvi Jaiswal in the absence of Riyan Parag. But it was carnage from the LSG openers Mitchell Marsh and Josh Inglis. The duo just tore RR bowlers apart in the power play with outstanding hitting. The attack was from both ends which was dangerous for the opposition. Inglis became the aggressor of the two while Marsh was not too far behind. The duo added 83 runs in power play overs.
They carried that on as 100 was up and of the partnership inside 8 overs. The duo put on 109 for the first wicket before Inglis fell. The innings lost a bit of momentum after Inglis dismissal. Pooran was sluggish despite hitting a couple of maximums. Even Marsh slowed down post the wicket of Inglis. But he batted through which was important considering the batting order LSG has. Thereafter, Rishabh Pant the captain took time to get going in the initial balls as things were slow with RR bowlers pulling it back.
Pant in the end recovered and made 35 off 23 balls, but he could have done more and given LSG a bigger score. 220 is still a good score, but LSG had a chance to further put pressure on RR by batting them out of the game by scoring 240+. They could and should have got there from 109/0 in 8.2 overs. But they did not and those runs came back to haunt them on a flat track that was on offer. LSG needs to work on this area and try and sustain the momentum that they get.
Unable to stop the Vaibhav Sooryavanshi storm sealed the fate of the match
RR came to chase 221 and got off to a perfect start as LSG’s Akash Singh confident of himself after the CSK game was given a reality check as his first over went for 23 runs. That really set the tone for RR in this chase as the first over really sets the tone either ways. Here, it was a quick start for the Royals. Yashasvi Jaiswal was the aggressor of the two inside the power play. He gave RR the head start they required helped by the opening over as RR despite being behind LSG in power play scored 71 in 6 overs.
Yashasvi fell soon after the power play when the score was 75 and he made 43 off 23 balls. Vaibhav took his time and got his eye in for the first 10 balls and scored a mere 5 runs. But then he opened up and once he did, it was all RR. Dhruv Jurel came and provided the stability RR needed. But it was the Vaibhav Sooryavanshi show as he lit up the night in the Pink city. The shots he played against the LSG bowlers were outstanding to say the least and the LSG bowlers just succumbed. They could not create any pressure as Vaibhav just tore anyone who came in his way.
Vaibhav smashed 10 sixes and 7 fours in his innings and he not only scored a cameo half-century. He converted that to a significant score which was needed in this big chase of 221. To put things into perspective, he was 5 off 10 balls. In the next 28 balls, he made 88 runs. It was a pity that he missed out on a deserved ton. But he has the orange cap now and has single-handedly kept RR’s hopes alive. LSG were poor with their lines and lengths as their bowling was exposed in the absence of veteran bowler Mohammed Shami.
They will hope to pick themselves up ahead of their last game of the season against PBKS in Lucknow on Saturday night. They will have to dish out and bowl a lot better than they have in this game for sure.
Inexperienced bowling from Akash Singh and Mayank Yadav exposes LSG’s issues
LSG took a tactical call in dropping/resting Shami from the XI and trying out the other bowlers. The intention was right, but the execution by them owing to inexperience cost them big time. They don’t have experience at this level and were just taken to the cleaners. Akash Singh who was the star in the game against CSK a couple of nights ago, started badly as he gave away 23 runs in his opening over. He got a wicket later, but he went for runs a lot.
That 23-run over meant that Akash completed giving a half-century of runs as he gave 54 runs in 3 overs. Mohsin Khan was the best bowler last night. Mayank Yadav started well with a good first two overs but he went the distance thereafter in his last 2 overs. Vaibhav tore him apart as well as the speedster went for 50 runs in 4 overs without a wicket lost. Even Prince Yadav, who got India call-up, went for 43 runs in 4 overs but he was better considering the match situation.
Both Akash Singh and Mayank Yadav are not yet ready to take the next step and they got brutally exposed. It’s one thing to have one bowler having an off-day. Here both had an off-day and went over 50 runs. They between them conceded 104 runs in 7 overs for the loss of one wicket. That was the game there. Both these bowlers will want to bounce back and make most of their final opportunity in their last game. Both will hope they get a game in the first place.
What Lies Ahead
So, LSG will wrap up their league campaign with a clash against PBKS on Saturday night in Lucknow. While RR have an important clash in Mumbai against MI on Saturday afternoon. Tonight, we are at Eden Gardens, Kolkata as KKR will face-off against MI in a must-win clash for KKR to keep their tiny playoff hopes alive. MI are already out and have nothing to lose. Let’s see how this clash pans out tonight hopefully with no rain interruptions in Kolkata with rain being unpredictable in these parts of the world.
Let’s see how tonight pans out.
Also Read: RR vs LSG: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s Barnstorming Knock Stuns LSG