The stage was perfectly set for a grand finish -- 15 runs required off six balls to win.
For Lucknow, Marcus Stoinis had successfully resuscitated a run chase that was struggling at 102-7 at one stage and led a remarkable fight back which saw LSG register 45 runs in the three overs preceding the final one.
For Rajasthan, the ball was handed to debutant pacer Kuldeep Sen to deliver the final over -- following the absolute whipping Stoinis had administered in the previous three overs to Royals's senior bowlers Yuzvendra Chahal, Prashidh Krishna and Trent Boult.
As Kuldeep raced in to bowl the first ball, Avesh Khan swatted the first ball to the covers to hand over the strike to Stoinis to close out the game.
The second ball was a full length delivery in the slot. Stoinis swung and missed out for a crucial dot ball. 14 runs needed off four balls.
The third delivery was yet again in the slot. Stoinis tried an unorthodox scoop towards fine leg which did not materialise and ended up smashing into his pads.
The fourth featured a changed of pace. Yet again Stoinis swung across the line and missed completely.
Those three crucial dot balls in a row turned the tie firmly in Rajasthan's favour. 14 runs needed off 2 balls meaning if Kuldeep stuck to bowling two legal deliveries, he could lead his team to victory.
Stoinis responded with a four and a six off the next two balls, but it was all too little too late as LSG fell three runs short.
In the end, it was the one final bowling effort that resulted in a win for the Rajasthan Royals. That it arrived off the young shoulders of a debutant Kuldeep shows remarkable trust in his capabilities by the Royals's team management.
