Skipper Sanju Samson led from the front with an unbeaten 33-ball 71 while Dhruv Jurel made 52 not out off 34 balls to guide the Rajasthan Royals to an easy win over Lucknow Super Giants.
Set 197 for victory after a fight back from K L Rahul and Deepak Hooda, Jos Buttler gave Rajasthan a good start before Samson and Jurel scored measured half-centuries and guide the team home to a comfortable win.
The batters who lit up the Ekana cricket stadium in Lucknow...
K L Rahul
Rahul continued his good showing in IPL 2024 as he smashed a quickfire fifty.
Rahul revived LSG after the early dismissals of Quinton de Kock and Marcus Stoinis within the first couple of overs. Rahul got going with a sweetly struck straight drive off Trent Boult in the third over.
In Deepak Hooda's company, Rahul scripted LSG's recovery although the duo took their time to find their range.
Rahul cut loose when he flicked a cracking flick off his pads to loft Avesh Khan for a six over mid wicket and then helped a high full toss, which was ruled a no-ball, over fine leg for another six in the same over.
He swatted the pacer for a four over midwicket to get 21 runs from the eight ball over and heaved leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal over the same region to bring up his fifty from 32 balls.
The LSG skipper didn't let the spinners settle down as he not only hit regular boundaries but also rotated the strike quite intelligently in the middle overs.
He and Hooda put on 115 runs for the third wicket to lay the foundation for the lower order assault in the death overs. But Royals' bowlers did well to come back in the last few overs with regular wickets.
Rahul walked back disappointed as he fell in the 18th over. He threw his bat at a short wide delivery from Avesh but could not find the gap and was taken at deep point after a classy 76 from 48 balls, which included eight fours and two sixes.
Deepak Hooda
Hooda struggled with the bat last season and this year too he didn't have a great start with the bat.
Coming into this match, Hooda didn't have many runs behind his back and needed a good knock to secure his place. LSG showed great trust in Hooda as he was sent in at No. 4 in the third over following two early wickets.
Hooda announced his arrival as he drove the first ball he faced, a wide half-volley from Boult for a four through the covers. He got a lucky boundary edging Ravichandran Ashwin through the vacant slip region for his second boundary. but his next four off Sandeep Sharma was a beautiful flick off a full toss through midwicket.
He hit Boult for two cracking drives through the off-side in the 11th over as LSG's innings gathered steam after a difficult start.
Hooda's off-side batting was particularly eye-catching. He made most of the full wide delivery from Chahal, hitting it past the fielder at point for a boundary and then the single in the same over brought up his first half century of the season, from 30 balls. This was Hooda's first fifty after 17 innings as he went through the last season without a single half-century.
Jos Buttler
Chasing 197, Rajasthan needed a brisk start and that is exactly what they got from their openers.
Yashasvi Jaiswal started the innings with a couple of boundaries off Matt Henry and Mohsin Khan in the first two overs before Buttler joined the party.
Buttler latched on to some poor bowling from Mohsin and Henry to hammer the duo for some big runs in the Powerplay. He scooped Henry for a six over fine in the third over before drilling a pitched up ball by Mohsin for a four to long on.
Buttler was also comfortable running the singles, twos and threes before hammering Henry for two fours in the 5th over. Jaiswal was happy to rotate the strike at the other end and Buttler's hammering took Rajasthan to 50 for no loss in 5 overs.
Buttler then welcomed Yash Thakur into the attack with a four off his pads to fine leg. Two balls later, Buttler shufflled a long way in an attempt to clip the ball, but he failed to connect and was bowled out for 34 off 18. His knock put the wheels on Rajasthan's chase as they were 60 for 1 at the end of the Powerplay overs. The start was enough to put Rajasthan on the right track.
Sanju Samson
There is no praise enough for the Rajasthan Royals captain. His effortless batting is a treat to the eyes; even when he slogs it doesn't look ugly. The best part of Samson's innings (71 not out off 33) on Saturday was the calmness that he showed while batting.
After Rajasthan had lost Impact Sub Riyan Parag for 14 with the scoreboard reading 78 for 3, the cameras panned to Samson, who had a slight shake of the head. The strategic timeout was called and whatever message was relayed to him and Jurel by Head Coach Kumar Sangakkara, it seemed to have worked.
Samson was happy to take the singles and find his feet. He played smartly, especially against Krunal Pandya, who bowled a tight spell.
Samson waited for the bad deliveries and gave them their due. He lapped a poor ball by Amit Mishra over fine leg for a four before he hit Yash Thakur for two fours in the next over. He timed his shots to perfection and used the long leg side boundary to find the gaps at will. He even reverse swept an otherwise in control Krunal for a four over point.
Samson took a liking to Ravi Bishnoi, who only got one over in the innings, as he swept, pulled and smashed the ball to both sides of the wicket to take 16 runs off the leg-spinner.
The 29 year old brought up his 50 with a six over deep mid-wicket before scoring the winning runs with a clip over fine leg for a six. He paced his innings well and didn't panic at all, leading the chase from the front.
His scores in IPL 2024 read: 82*(52), 15(14), 12(10), 69(42), 68*(38), 18(14), 12(8), 38*(28), 71*(33).
With 385 runs (at a strike rate of 161.08), Samson has already set a couple of records for this season -- he now has most runs as a captain and is the leading run-scorer among wicket keepers.
The call up to the T20 World Cup squad is at touching distance and he is not done yet!
Dhruv Jurel
Jurel has looked in good touch whenever he's had the opportunity to bat. He had scored a couple of 20s and 30s, but has not able to convert them into meaningful knocks.
On Saturday, he made the opportunity count. Coming in to bat at 78 for 3 at the fall of Parag's wicket, all he had to do was bat sensibly and compliment his captain at the other end. He did so with aplomb.
He hit his first six of the innings, sending Mishra's tossed up delivery over long on for a maximum.
Jurel then hit Thakur for a four before Mohsin Khan was sent to the cleaners. In the 14th over he clobbered the fast bowler for 20 runs with an array of shots that ranged from a punch over covers to a lap shot to a pull shot. He survived two drop chances as he ended the over with an edge over short third man.
The runs came thick and fast off his bat hereafter as he and Samson put on an unbeaten stand of 121. He also brought up his maiden IPL and T20 half-century as his family watched in the stands.
Jurel got his captain's vote of confidence after the match: 'Form is temporary in this format. We have seen Dhruv Jurel in Test cricket. We believe in him. He has been batting one hour and two hours at times in the nets,' Samson told the broadcasters.
LSG Vs RR; Who Batted Best? Vote!
