Tag: Rajasthan Royals

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RR End RCB’s Streak, Face SRH in Qualifier 2

RR End RCB’s Comeback Run, Set to Face SRH in Qualifier 2 at Chennai…reports Asian Lite News

Ahmedabad, May 22 (IANS) Rajasthan Royals went up and down in their chase of 173 but finally managed to end their five-match winless streak with a four-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the IPL 2024 Eliminator at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Wednesday.

With the result, RR have ended RCB’s dream comeback run and six-game winning after being at the bottom of the points table to now set up a clash with Sunrisers Hyderabad in Qualifier 2 at Chennai. The winner of the Qualifier 2 clash at Chennai will face Kolkata Knight Riders in the final on Sunday.

After Avesh Khan (3-44) and Ravichandran Ashwin (2-19) starred in a disciplined bowling effort to restrict RCB to 172/8, Yashasvi Jaiswal top-scored with 45, followed by Riyan Parag (36), Shimron Hetmyer (26) and Rovman Powell (16 not out) propelled RR to complete the chase in 19 overs.

Chasing 173, Jaiswal survived on five when Cameron Green dropped a difficult chance at first slip. After that, Jaiswal hit three fours off the next four balls against Yash Dayal, before he and Tom Kohler-Cadmore took three boundaries collectively off Mohammed Siraj.

Kohler-Cadmore earned a reprieve when Glenn Maxwell shelled a simple catch in the deep and went on to take two fours off Dayal. But the batter fell to Lockie Ferguson in the last over of Power-play when his off-stump was rattled by a slower yorker.

Jaiswal and Sanju Samson collectively took three boundaries off Swapnil Singh, but the former fell when his attempt to scoop took a glove edge behind against Green. In the next over, Samson stepped out against Karn Sharma and missed a wide ball to be stumped easily. There was more cheer for RCB as Virat Kohli executed a superb throw from the deep after running to his left from deep square leg and had a casual Dhruv Jurel run-out.

Hetmyer began to calm RR’s nerves with a six over wide long-on off Green before Parag hit a lovely inside-out six over cover and backed away to ramp a short ball over the third-man boundary for four more, as 17 runs came off the 16th over. Hetmyer drove and slashed Dayal for two fours, as the equation for RR became 19 off 18 balls.

But Parag fell for 36 off 26 balls after he missed a big heave off Siraj and saw his middle stump being uprooted. Three balls later, Hetmyer went for a flick, but the leading edge was caught by cover running back and clinging on for a superb catch, as RCB brought a twist in the tale.

With 13 runs needed off 12 balls, Powell toe-ended a square drive and edged in the third-man region to collect consecutive fours off Ferguson. Powell finished off the chase with a gentle loft down the ground to ensure RR have a shot at entering the final, while RCB were left heartbroken.

Previously, on a red soil pitch, Trent Boult (1/16) built pressure with a tidy opening spell, before Ashwin bowled a delightful spell to ensure RCB weren’t let off the hook. Avesh then bounced back from giving 30 runs in his first two overs by conceding only 14 runs in his last two overs and taking three wickets as RR gave away just 47 runs in the last five overs.

Electing to bowl first, Boult kept things tight when he found early swing and denied Kohli as well as du Plessis room to hit boundaries. Kohli began the early fightback by picking a four off Sandeep Sharma before du Plessis closed the second over by thumping a six down the ground.

Kohli hooked Avesh for six before du Plessis scooped and smashed him for two fours. Boult was rewarded for his perseverance when du Plessis miscued to deep mid-wicket, where Powell dived forward to complete a superb low catch.

Kohli slapped and whipped Sandeep for two boundaries in the last over of power-play, but his attempt to slog-sweep Yuzvendra Chahal through the short square boundary resulted in him picking out deep mid-wicket to perfection.

Green muscled Chahal for six and four respectively, before Rajat Patidar was dropped on five by Jurel at long-on off Ashwin. The duo would take a four each off Avesh before Ashwin bounced back by removing the duo in the 13th over. While Green miscued off a carrom ball to a backtracking cover, Maxwell holed out to long-on to fall for a golden duck.

Patidar broke the shackles by striking three quick boundaries, before miscuing one to mid-off against Avesh. Dinesh Karthik survived a contentious LBW call on review off Avesh but didn’t produce any heroics as he miscued a good short ball from the pacer to cover.

Mahipal Lomror hit four boundaries in his 17-ball 32 before slicing to deep point to become Avesh’s third scalp of the match, followed by Karn slicing to sweeper cover on the last ball off Sandeep, as 172 wasn’t enough for RCB to continue their dream run.

Brief scores:

Royal Challengers Bengaluru 172/8 in 20 overs (Rajat Patidar 34, Virat Kohli 33; Avesh Khan 3-44, Ravichandran Ashwin 2-19) lost to Rajasthan Royals 174/6 in 19 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 45, Riyan Parag 36; Mohammed Siraj 2-33, Karn Sharma 1-19) by four wickets

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RR Denied Top-Two Finish in IPL 2024 Due to Rain

The abandonment of IPL 2024’s last league game means table-toppers KKR will face Sunrisers Hyderabad in Qualifier 1 …reports Asian Lite News

Rajasthan Royals were denied a shot at a top-two finish in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 points table as their final league match against Kolkata Knight Riders was abandoned without a ball being bowled because of rain at the Barsapara Stadium here on Sunday.

The abandonment of IPL 2024’s last league game means table-toppers KKR will face Sunrisers Hyderabad in Qualifier 1 at Ahmedabad on Tuesday, while third-placed RR will take on the in-form Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Eliminator at the same venue on Wednesday. It’s also the first time that KKR have ended an IPL league stage as table-toppers.

Ahead of Sunday’s game, there had been an alert issued in Guwahati about rain, thunderstorms, and gusty winds affecting the clash between the top two teams on the points table. Just five minutes before the scheduled toss time, sudden rain forced the groundstaff to bring the covers on the playing square.

Soon, additional covers were brought in and the forecast was not looking promising with the drizzle varying between heavy and steady, keeping the teams as well as fans waiting. With the cut-off time for a five-over shootout set at 10.56 pm local time, the rain stopped at 10 pm and covers were pulled off, with super soppers working in full swing.

With the rain threat still looming, KKR chose to bowl first in a seven-overs-per-side shootout. But ahead of the start of the truncated game, rain returned to Guwahati, and the covers were back in place.

The inevitable happened at 10:49 pm when captains Shreyas Iyer and Sanju Samson shook hands to signal the abandonment of the match, with both RR and KKR receiving a point each.

ALSO READ: RCB Triumph Over CSK to Clinch Playoff Berth

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RR’s Woes Deepen

RR have lost their fourth match in a row and are second with eight wins and five losses, giving them 16 points. PBKS is in ninth spot with five wins, eight losses and 10 points…reports Asian Lite News

Despite qualifying for playoffs, Rajasthan Royals (RR) continued a downward spiral in momentum as a fine bowling performance by Punjab Kings (PBKS) and a fighting half-century by skipper Sam Curran handed them a five-wicket loss at Guwahati on Wednesday in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match.

RR have lost their fourth match in a row and are second with eight wins and five losses, giving them 16 points. PBKS is in ninth spot with five wins, eight losses and 10 points.

In the run-chase of 145 runs, Punjab Kings had a poor start as they lost Prabhsimran Singh for just six runs in four balls, with a top edge of his bat landing into the hands of Yuzvendra Chahal at short third man. Trent Boult got his first wicket. PBKS was 6/1 in 0.4 overs.

Riley Rossouw came to the crease and along with Jonny Bairstow, unleashed a brief attack on pacers. Rossouw smashed Boult for three fours in the third over and in the next over, Sandeep was hit for two boundaries by South Africa.

However, Rossouw sliced a delivery by Avesh Khan straight into the hands of Yashasvi Jaiswal at backward point, dismissed for 22 in 13 balls, with five fours. PBKS was 36/2 in 4.3 overs.

Two balls later, Avesh Khan trapped Shashank Singh’s leg-before-wicket for a duck. PBKS was 36/3 in 4.5 overs.

PBKS had a very disappointing powerplay, ending their six overs at 39/3, with Jonny Bairstow (9*) and Sam Curran (2*) unbeaten.

Chahal got his first wicket, removing a struggling Bairstow for just 14 in 22 balls, consisting of a four. PBKS was 48/4 in eight overs.

Skipper Sam Curran and Jitesh Sharma joined forces and built the innings run-by-run following these early wickets.

Halfway through the innings, PBKS was 63/4, with Jitesh (8*) and Curran (13*) unbeaten.

Punjab reached the 100-run mark in 14.4 overs thanks to a six from Curran.

At the end of 15 overs, PBKS was 103/4, with Jitesh (22*) and Curran (39*) unbeaten.

The 63-run partnership between the duo was over when a lofted shot from Jitesh landed into the hands of Riyan, giving Chahal his second wicket. Jitesh was gone for 22 in 20 balls, with two fours. PBKS was 111/5 in 15.4 overs.

Curran continued his fightback, reaching his second fifty in the tournament in 38 balls, with five fours and a six.

PBKS ended their run chase at 145/5 in 18.5 overs, with Curran (63* in 41 balls, with five fours and three sixes) and Ashutosh Sharma (17* in 11 balls, with a four and six) unbeaten.

Avesh Khan (2/28) and Yuzvendra Chahal (2/31) were among the top bowlers for RR.

Earlier, Sam Curran and Rahul Chahar helped Punjab Kings (PBKS) to restrict Rajasthan Royals (RR) at 144/9 in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.

Riyan Parag was the only standout batter for Rajasthan Royals after he scored the highest runs among his teammates in Guwahati.

After winning the toss, Rajasthan Royals decided to bat first in Guwahati, however, they did not get the start they wanted after Punjab Kings bowlers restricted the hosts’ run rate.

Yashasvi Jaiswal (4 runs from 4 balls, 1 four) and Tom Kohler-Cadmore (18 runs from 23 balls, 2 fours and 1 six) opened for the Rajasthan-based franchise.

Jaiswal smashed a four after cracking a cover drive against Sam Curran in the first ball of the inning. But the Indian youngster struggled infront of the PBKS skipper as Curran dismissed him in the fourth ball of the first over. Curran gave only nine runs in his first over.

After the first dismissal, Kohler-Cadmore and Sanju Samson (18 runs from 15 balls, 3 fours) tried to build a partnership. But the RR skipper was removed by Nathan Ellis in the 7th over.

After the end of the first powerplay of the match, the Royals scored just 38 runs and lost one wicket. In IPL 2024, RR became the second franchise after Gujarat Titans (GT) to hit the least sixes in powerplay, Samson’s side smashed just 17 overhead boundaries in the ongoing T20 tournament.

Kohler-Cadmore struggled to get going in the game and Rahul Chahar was successful in dismissing him in the 8th over.

RR were at 58/3 after the end of the 10th over. PBKS bowlers kept the rate under control without any problem. The Royals registered the fifth lowest scores at the 10-over mark in the ongoing IPL 2024.

After failing to hit boundaries, Ravichandran Ashwin (28 runs from 19 balls, 3 fours and 1 six) came as a rescue in the 12th over after he slammed 2 fours and 1 six against Chahar. The PBKS bowler gave 17 runs in the 12th over.

In the 13th over, Arshdeep Singh removed Ashwin to get an upper hand on the match. RR failed to maintain momentum in the game, as in the 14th over, Sam Curran removed Dhruv Jurel for a golden duck.

The Rajasthan-based franchise crossed the 100-run mark in the 14th over. Just in the next over, Rovman Powell (4 runs from 5 balls, 1 four) was removed by Chahar in the 15th over.

It was not the beginning the Royals expected as they had a slow start, losing wickets and ending with a mediocre total at the halfway stage after the end of the 16th over when Samson’s side was at 113/6.

Harshal Patel bagged his first wicket of the game after he removed Donovan Ferreira (7 runs from 8 balls) in the 18th over.

In the last over of the first inning, Harshal removed Riyan Parag (48 runs from 34 balls, 6 fours). The Assamese cricketer only dealt with fours and failed to slam a single six against the Punjab bowlers.

In the last ball of the over, Boult tried to take two runs but Shashank Singh and Jonny Bairstow made no mistake in removing him by a run-out. The Royals ended their inning at 144/9.

Rahul Chahar, Sam Curran, and Harshal Patel led the Punjab bowling attack as the two bowlers picked up two wickets in their respective spells.

Brief score: Rajasthan Royals: 144/9 (Riyan Parag 48, Ravichandran Ashwin 28, Sanju Samson 18; Sam Curran 2/24) lost to Punjab Kings: 145/5 (Sam Curran 63*, Rilee Rossouw 22, Avesh Khan 2/26). (ANI)

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DC Triumph RR, Bolsters Playoff Chances

The win sees DC jump to fifth place in the points table and are now tied with Lucknow Super Giants, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Chennai Super Kings at 12 points…reports Asian Lite News

Kuldeep Yadav and Mukesh Kumar bowled superb spells as bowlers came to the fore as Delhi Capitals kept alive their hopes of reaching the Playoffs of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 with a 20-run win over Rajasthan Royals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium here on Tuesday.

After Jake Fraser-McGurk and Abishek Porel slammed fifties in contrasting fashion, while Tristan Stubbs applied finishing touches with a 20-ball 41 to propel Delhi Capitals to 221/8, Kuldeep and Mukesh bowled decisive spells of 2-25 and 2-30 respectively to restrict Rajasthan Royals to 201/8.

The win sees DC jump to fifth place in the points table and are now tied with Lucknow Super Giants, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Chennai Super Kings at 12 points. It is also the second straight time that RR, despite a brilliant 86 from captain Sanju Samson, have failed to complete a chase and need to wait longer to seal their Playoff spot.

Khaleel Ahmed struck in his first over as he had Yashasvi Jaiswal miscuing a slower bouncer to mid-off. Sanju Samson upped the ante with sublime timing on his loft, drive, flat-batted smashes, punch, flick and piercing the gaps in cover with precision to hit five fours and three sixes in the power-play.

But RR lost Jos Buttler in the last over of the six-over phase, as he chopped onto his stumps off Axar Patel, meaning his catch being dropped by Tristan Stubbs didn’t become costly for DC. With Axar and Kuldeep operating in tandem, DC forced a slowdown by giving 25 runs in overs 7-10, though Riyan Parag got two sixes and a four.

That effort paid off as Parag was castled by a slower ball from Rasikh Salam which hit the top of off-stump. Samson went on to get his fifth IPL 2024 fifty in 28 balls by clearing his front leg and smacking Kuldeep over long-on for six off a free hit. Sitting deep in the crease, Samson hit Rasikh for six over long-on, followed by cutting and muscling him for four and six respectively.

With 91 runs needed off 42 balls, Samson just cleared cover off Ishant for four, before Shubham Dubey punched and muscled the pacer for four and six respectively to take 17 runs off the 14th over. Khaleel giving away four wides in an 11-run 15th over meant the equation for RR became 63 runs off 30 balls for the win.

Samson’s fine knock came to an end in dramatic circumstances when Shai Hope took a screamer of a catch at long-on, just millimetres away from the boundary rope off Mukesh. Though he walked up to the umpire in protest, it was in vain as Samson had to depart for 86.

From there, DC came back in the match as Shubham Dubey holed out to long-on off Khaleel. Kuldeep trapped Donovan Ferreira plumb lbw and had Ravichandran Ashwin holing out to long-on in his final over. Despite a slow-over rate penalty in the final over, where DC could field only four fielders outside the 30-yard circle, Mukesh castled Rovman Powell, which was enough to get DC a crucial win.

Brief scores:

Delhi Capitals 221/8 in 20 overs (Abishek Porel 65, Jake Fraser-McGurk 50; Ravichandran Ashwin 3-24) beat Rajasthan Royals 201/8 in 20 overs (Sanju Samson 86; Kuldeep Yadav 2-25, Mukesh Kumar 2-30) by 20 runs

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Shimron Hetmyer’s Blitz Leads Rajasthan Royals to Thrilling Victory

Rajasthan Royals faced a tough situation but Shimron Hetmyer’s quickfire 27 off 10 balls secured a thrilling three-wicket win against Punjab Kings, maintaining their top spot…reports Asian Lite News

Rajasthan Royals were in a tricky situation, but Shimron Hetmyer ensured he went bang-bang to slam an unbeaten 27 off 10 balls as the visitors beat Punjab Kings in a low-scoring thriller by three wickets to maintain their pole position in the points table at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium on Saturday evening.

After restricting PBKS to 147/8 on a slow pitch, RR were in trouble at 115/5. Under mounting pressure, Hetmyer, who barely got batting time this season, smashed a four and three sixes, including the winning shot, to get RR over the line with a ball to spare, as the side got its fifth win of the tournament, while PBKS were consigned to its fourth defeat.

He was also helped by Rovman Powell making a vital five-ball 11 to give RR a slim victory in yet another last-over encounter between the two teams.

Chasing 148, Tanush Kotian, playing as an opener for the first time in Jos Butter’s absence, got off the mark with a cut past backward point off Arshdeep Singh and would go on to pull the pacer for another boundary.

From the other end, Yashasvi Jaiswal timed his flick and drove well to pick up a brace of fours. Though Kotian struggled to get going despite smashing Rabada over mid-on for four, Jaiswal cut off Sam Curran and was also helped by a misfield to take two boundaries as RR didn’t lose a wicket in power-play for the first time in IPL 2024.

Shortly after, Kotian tried to release dot-ball pressure with a big slog but was castled by Liam Livingstone. Sanju Samson injected positivity in RR’s chase by thumping Livingstone down the ground for six, followed by a pulled four. PBKS’ move to bring back Rabada worked as Jasiwal upper-cut a rising delivery to third man and trapped Samson lbw in his next over.

Arshdeep got PBKS ahead when he had Parag caught in the deep off a top-edge, followed by Harshal Patel having Jurel caught by Shashank Singh running in from deep mid-wicket to complete a stunning grab. With 30 runs needed off 14 balls, Hetmyer breathed life into the chase by muscling Harshal for four and pulling over backward square leg for six as 14 runs came off the 18th over.

Powell brought out back-to-back drives off Curran, before being bounced out by the pacer, who had Keshav Maharaj holing out to long-on in the 19th over. With ten runs needed off the final over, Arshdeep nailed back-to-back wide yorkers, before Hetmyer smashed a six straight to long-on cushion. After a brace to long-on, Hetmyer finished off the chase by walloping a high full toss over fine leg for six to seal a tight win for RR.

Earlier, Ashutosh Sharma exhibited his incredible ball-striking ability by making a 16-ball 31 to propel PBKS to a respectable 147/8. PBKS’ suffered a top-order meltdown as RR nailed their lengths and pace of deliveries very well and forced them to play poor shots, leading to their downfall. After Jitesh Sharma made 29, impact player Ashutosh brought some late fireworks for PBKS to amass 61 runs in the last five overs.

For RR, Maharaj took 2/23 in an impressive middle-overs spell while Avesh Khan also had two scalps to his name. Yuzvendra Chahal, Trent Boult and Kuldeep Sen took a wicket each in a disciplined bowling performance for RR.

Pushed into batting first, PBKS couldn’t get going as Atharva Taide top-edged a pull-off Avesh and with both Kuldeep plus Sanju Samson in contention to take the catch, it was taken by the former despite a minor collision.

The rest of the power-play was a struggle for PBKS as they ended the power-play at 38/1, which continued in middle overs. Prabhsimran Singh tried to go big against Chahal but holed out to long-on. Jonny Bairstow tried to slap a Maharaj delivery, but spooned a catch to cover, giving the left-arm spinner his first IPL wicket. He then got his second scalp by having Curran pull straight to mid-wicket.

Jitesh finally got PBKS’ first boundary in middle overs by dancing down the pitch to hammer a four over Maharaj’s head while Shashank Singh drove off the spinner for another boundary. But Kuldeep had Shashank miscuing a pull to Jurel, who took his third catch of the match.

Jitesh injected some momentum in PBKS’ innings by lofting Chahal over extra cover for six and crunching Kuldeep for a loft down the ground to pick another maximum. Livingstone also found boundaries by heaving and swiping Kuldeep for four and six respectively.

But in a bid to go over mid-off, Jitesh miscued the shot and gave a catch to the fielder off Avesh. Livingstone wanted to go for a second run, but Ashutosh sent him back. By then, Samson had collected the under-arm throw from debutant Kotian and had Livingstone run out.

Ashutosh, dropped at nine due to a collision between Samson and Avesh for taking his catch, provided finishing touches by smashing three brutal sixes – two of them coming over long-on and firmly struck a four through extra cover before a top-edge on the pull caught by backward point led to his dismissal on last ball of the PBKS’ stop-start innings, which wasn’t enough to deny RR their second win away from home.

Brief scores:

Punjab Kings 147/8 in 20 overs (Ashutosh Sharma 31, Jitesh Sharma 29; Keshav Maharaj 2-23, Avesh Khan 2-34) lost to Rajasthan Royals 152/7 in 19.5 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 39, Shimron Hetmyer 27 not out; Kagiso Rabada 2-18, Sam Curran 2-25) by three wickets.

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RR Dominate MI with Parag’s Heroics

Parag struck five fours and three sixes and shared a 40-run partnership for the fourth wicket with Ravichandran Ashwin as Rajasthan Royals recovered from 48/3 to reach 127/4…reports Asian Lite News

Riyan Parag slammed back-to-back half-centuries as Rajasthan Royals hammered Mumbai Indians by six wickets with 27 balls to spare in Match 14 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 at the Wankhede Stadium on Monday.

In a match dominated by the bowlers, Parag struck the lone fifty, his composed knock coming off 38 balls as he ended the match with a flurry of shots, two sixes and a four off Gerald Coetzee to seal the third victory for Rajasthan Royals, taking them to the top of the IPL table with six points.

Parag struck five fours and three sixes and shared a 40-run partnership for the fourth wicket with Ravichandran Ashwin as Rajasthan Royals recovered from 48/3 to reach 127/4. The victory was set up by their bowlers — Trent Boult (3-22) and Yuzvendra Chahal (3-11) as they helped them restrict Mumbai Indians to 125/9 in 20 overs. Nandre Burger claimed 2-32 to contribute to the RR cause after skipper Sanju Samson had won the toss and elected to field first on a pitch that provided seam movement initially but eased out in the second innings.

Yashasvi Jaiswal struck the 17-year-old South African pacer Kwena Maphaka to back-to-back boundaries off the fourth and fifth deliveries of the opening over, carving it squarely on the off over point from a full-length delivery and following it by clearing the infield on the leg-side when the pacer pitched it short.

But the young South African had his revenge on the next delivery, as a full-length delivery outside off shaped away and Jaiswal lobbed it straight to Tim David at cover. Maphaka claimed his first IPL wicket in his second match after going wicketless for 66 against SRH in Hyderabad. RR were 10/1.

Skipper Sanju Samson lashed a widish delivery from Maphaka through point for a boundary and then enjoyed the same result off the next delivery, as the bowler offered more width. But Samson was out soon, castled by Akash Madhwal as he chopped onto his stumps, attempting a cut without any foot movement.

And when Jos Buttler, who was troubled by Jasprit Bumrah despite being struck for a boundary, was out for 13, caught by Piyush Chawla as he pulled Akash Madhwal flat and straight to fine leg, Rajasthan Royals were in trouble at 48/3 in the 7th over.

However, a 40-run partnership off 35 balls for the fourth wicket between Riyan Parag and Ravichandran Ashwin propelled them ahead on course to victory. While Parag dropped anchor, Ashwin struck a run-a-ball 16, hitting a four as Rajasthan Royals remained on course. It was slow going as RR tried to consolidate their position. Madhwal got Ashwin for his third wicket, with a short one outside off and Ashwin attempted to turn it to leg and edged it to Tilak Varma.

Parag ramped Gerald Coetzee to the boundary and followed it up with another boundary off the next delivery. A boundary each off Coetzee and Bumrah helped him keep RR’s hopes alive. They reached 100/4 in the 14th over.

With 25 needed off 36 balls, Parag slogged Piyush Chawal over cow corner for his first six and in the next over carved Coetzee over cover for six and followed it up with a pull-over midwicket to complete his back-to-back fifties.

He sealed victory for Rajasthan Royals with a top-edge off a short one by Coetzee as the ball sailed over the keeper’s head to the boundary. Parag remained unbeaten on 54 as he helped Rajasthan Royals to their third victory in three matches. They also became the second team after KKR to win an away match in IPL 2024.

Brief scores:

Mumbai Indians 125/9 in 20 overs (Hardik Pandya 34, Tilak Varma 32; Yuzvendra Chahal 3-11, Trent Boult 3-22, Nandre Burger 2-32) lost to Rajasthan Royals 127/4 in 15.3 overs (Riyan Parag 54 not out; Akash Madhwal 3-20) by six wickets.

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Giants Fall Short Against Resilient Royals

Rajasthan Royals opt to bat, score 193/4 with Samson-Parag partnership, then defend to defeat Lucknow Super Giants with 173/6, marking a victorious start to IPL 2024 campaign…reports Asian Lite News

Nicholas Pooran’s 63 and KL Rahul’s 58 went in vain as Rajasthan Royals (RR) rode on a superb unbeaten 82 by skipper Sanju Samson and clinical bowling performance to beat Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) by 20 runs in the fourth match of the Indian Premier League (IPL), here at Sawai Mansingh Stadium.

Electing to bat first, Rajasthan Royals stormed to a competitive 193/4 in their 20 overs thanks to a 93-run partnership between Samson and Riyan Parag before coming back to restrict Lucknow Super Giants to 173/6 to start their IPL 2024 campaign on a winning note.

Chasing the target of 194, Lucknow Super Giants struggled early in the inning as Trent Boult struck twice in consecutive overs, dismissing Quinton de Kock and Devdutt Padikkal. In his first over after getting struck for four by de Kock, Boult made a comeback with a fullish delivery outside leg and Nandre Burger took an easy catch at the fine leg.

Boult then removed Padikkal for a duck, who was in his debut inning for LSG. The seasoned pacer from New Zealand went slightly on the shorter side of the length this time while angling it into the left-hander. The ball pitched on or about off stump, and came back in while not entirely taking off from the pitch. Padikkal had shaped to swipe – perhaps seeing the length – and so it was too late by the time he tried to bend.

Nandre Burger, who came in as an Impact Player then removed Ayush Badoni for one run.

After the early setback, Deepak Hooda and skipper K.L. Rahul pulled LSG back into the game as they both stitched a partnership collecting boundaries and maximums. Hooda’s first two scoring strokes were a six and a four in consecutive balls as he used Burger’s pace to pick the deep third boundary before Rahul recovered from another helmet-thumping bouncer from Boult to slog-sweep R. Ashwin over deep midwicket for six. LSG finished the Powerplay at 47 for 3.

Yuzvendra Chahal struck in his first over to extend his lead at the top of the IPL all-time wickets stats. It was an appropriately breezy knock from Hooda, 26 from 13 all told, including a second six over deep midwicket off Avesh Khan. But his attempt to charge Chahal failed, as Dhruv Jurel judged well to take the catch, five metres in from the rope.

Lucknow reached 76 for 4 at the halfway mark, with Pooran surviving a diving attempt from Riyan Parag at long-off to bring up his first six. But the chase was far from done yet, as Burger bowled an expensive third over conceding 17 runs including a six and two fours from Rahul.

Boult returned for his fourth and final over and ended up conceding 20 runs, including two maximums and a boundary. Rahul, meanwhile reached his fifty from 35 balls. A perfectly even-paced response to that powerplay meltdown.

Pooran on the other hand batted sensibly and rotated the strike carefully. Rajasthan kept themselves in the fight keeping the run-rate at roughly two-a-ball. After the strategic time-out, KL Rahul looked in a hurry and took on the wide line from Sandeep Sharma and picked out Jurel in the covers. Rahul got out for a well-made 58 from 44, ending a stand of 85 from 52, as Marcus Stoinis joined the battle.

Marcus Stoinis has to go hard from the get-go, and Ashwin’s carrom ball had his measure. A slog to deep midwicket brought Krunal Pandya to the middle as Stoinis went back to the pavilion scoring just three off four deliveries.

Sandeep Sharma bowled a brilliant 19th over, giving just 11 overs, leaving Avesh Khan to defend 27 in the final six balls. Avesh was outstanding with his wide outside yorker and delivered on the captain’s expectations as he gave only six runs. It was an anticlimactic end for the Giants as they lost the match by 20 runs.

Earlier in the first inning, Rajasthan Royals scored 193/4 in their 20 overs. Skipper Samson was the key batter for the Royals as he continued to find gaps and score boundaries with ease. His innings of 82 off 52 deliveries were marked with six maximums and three boundaries.

After an early setback, Samson anchored the Royals innings whereas Riyan Parag played the aggressive part. Coming to bat at No. 4, all-rounder Parag, who had a good domestic season, got off to a decent start but soon started changing gears. Yash Thakur with his first over of the inning got punished for 21 runs. Both the Royals batter marked their bowler and took all possible risks to score against him. Ravi Bishnoi was welcomed with 15 runs by Parag and Samson.

Skipper Samson reached his maiden fifty against LSG in 33 deliveries. In between this, left-arm unorthodox spinner Krunal Pandya held the game in favour of the Giants. His four-over; 19 runs spell was marked by no boundary.

Parag fell short of his half-century as he was dismissed by Haq, who clinched his second wicket of the evening. The over already saw the Royals batter scoring 14 runs, a boundary, a maximum, and few wides and singles. However, in an attempt to pull a short ball over a deep backward square leg, Parag lost his wicket as he holed out to substitute fielder Deepak Hooda. Parag was dismissed for 43 runs.

Parag and Samson added 93 runs for the third-wicket partnership. However, the partnership was marked by three dropped chances by the Giants fielder. Mohsin Khan dropped Parag at 21 and Samson at 36.

The outstanding performance by Sandeep Sharma at the crucial juncture of the game proved fruitful for the Royals as they kicked off the tournament with a win. Boult yet again in the powerplay was superb, Ashwin was a bit expensive but got the big wicket of Stoinis. A brilliant team performance from the Royals and they will now face Delhi Capitals on March 28 at Jaipur.

Brief Score:

Rajasthan Royals 193/4 in 20 overs (Sanju Samson 82 not out, Riyan Parag 43; Naveen-ul-Haq 2-42, Ravi Bishnoi 1-38) beat Lucknow Super Giants 173/6 in 20 overs (Nicholas Pooran 64 not out, KL Rahul 58; Trent Boult 2-35, Sandeep Sharma 1-22) by 20 runs.

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SRH clinch thrilling win over RR

Jaipur, May 07 (ANI): Sunrisers Hyderabad's Abhishek Sharma plays a shot in a match against Rajasthan Royals during the Indian Premier League 2023, at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, in Jaipur on Sunday. (ANI Photo/Digital Restriction)

With this win, SRH has rose to the ninth spot with four wins and six losses, with a total of eight points…reports Asian Lite News

Top knocks from Abhishek Sharma and Rahul Tripathi followed by fiery cameos from Glenn Phillips and Abdul Samad helped Sunrisers Hyderabad clinch a four-wicket win in their IPL 2023 match against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Jaipur on Sunday.

With this win, SRH has rose to the ninth spot with four wins and six losses, with a total of eight points. RR is in the fourth spot with five wins, six losses and a total of 10 points. Abhishek Sharma gave a solid start with his 55 off 34 runs and the game-changing cameo of Glenn Phillips’s 25 off just 7 balls gave SRH their biggest win of the season so far.

Yuzvendra Chahal was the pick of the bowlers for RR, he took four wickets conceding 29 runs. Kuldip Yadav and R Ashwin took one scalp each.

Chasing the highest target in Jaipur, SRH openers Abhishek Sharma and Anmolpreet Singh started the innings steady as they brought their 50-run partnership in 34 balls. However, they lost their first wicket in the final over of powerplay. Chahal dismissed Anmolpreet at 33 off 25 balls. SRH was 51/1 in 5.5 overs.

After the end of the powerplay, SRH were at 52/1. Rahul Tripathi (1* off 1 balls) and Abhishek Sharma (18* off 10 balls) were unbeaten.

Abhishek then built 50 run partnership with Rahul Tripathi in 36 balls and they brought up the 100-run mark for SRH on the scoreboard in 11.3 overs.

Abhishek brought his fifty in 33 balls but was quickly dismissed by Ashwin in the 13th over. He scored 55 off 34 balls, consisting of five fours and two sixes. SRH was at 116/2 in 12.4 overs.

Heinrich Klaasen arrived at the crease and gave some hope to SRH fans with his clean and quick-hitting. However, he became Chahal’s second victim, scoring 26 off 12 balls. SRH was 157/3 in 15.5 overs.

In the 18th over, Chahal pushed SRH into the back seat as he picked two wickets. Rahul Tripathi was dismissed at 47 off 29 balls and Aiden Markram got out at 6 off 5 balls. SRH sunk to 174/5 in 17.5 overs and perhaps a lot was left for the remaining line-up to hit in the final overs. Chahal also got his four-wicket haul and became the joint-highest wicket-taker in the league’s history.

However, the match was turned full upside down in the penultimate over when Glenn Phillips hit three consecutive sixes and a four on Kuldip Yadav’s bowling. But the bowler did not let the Kiwi batter finish the match, dismissing him for 25 off seven balls. SRH was at 196/6 in 18.5 overs.

In the last over, SRH needed 17 runs. That oversaw a lot of drama, as RR had won the match after Abdul Samad was caught on the final ball. But after it was called a no-ball, SRH won the match, with Samad hitting a six on final ball.

Earlier, Choose to Bat, RR plans were clear as they started off with a boundary. Yashasvi Jaiswal was taking form from the previous match forward and was hitting boundaries in every over. Jos Buttler also joined him as they added a 50-run partnership off 26 balls.

Marco Jansen brought the wicket for SRH when he got the breakthrough of Yashasvi Jaiswal at short third man. Jaiswal scored 35 off 18 balls.

After the end of the powerplay, RR were 70/1, Sanju Samson 11* off 7 and Jos Buttler 18* off 17 balls.

RR’s batter attacked Mayank Markande in the 9th over, collecting 21 runs with three sixes.

Rajasthan reached the 100-run mark in just 9.4 overs. Buttler 37* off 26 balls and Samson 28 off 16 balls.

Buttler and Samson were not giving any chance to the bowlers, they achieved the 50 runs partnership off 29 balls.

Buttler who missed his mark in the previous match, bounced back as he smashed his half-century off 32 balls in 11.4 overs.

SRH bowlers were looking helpless as they had no answer for the explosive batting of Rajasthan. RR brought their 150-run mark in 14.2 overs.

Samson brought his fifty off 33 balls in the 18th over.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Marco Jansen were the only bowlers who got one breakthrough.

Like the first match of the day, Buttler also fell short of scoring his century. He was dismissed by Bhuvneshwar in 18.3 overs at 95 off 59 balls.

Rajasthan collected 17 runs in the last over, posting the highest target in Jaipur.

Yuzvendra Chahal was the pick of the bowlers for RR, he took four wickets conceding 29 runs. Kuldip Yadav, R Ashwin took one scalp each.

Brief scores Rajasthan Royals 214/2 (Jos Buttler 95, Sanju Samson 66, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 1/44) vs Sunrisers Hyderabad 217/6 (Abhishek Sharma 55, Rahul Tripathi 47, Yuzvendra Chahal 4/29) (ANI)

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Samson blitz rescues Rajasthan Royals

With Rajasthan at 66/4 in 12 overs, Samson breathed life back in the waning chase by hitting Rashid for a hat-trick of sixes…reports Asian Lite News

Rajasthan Royals were literally in a no man’s land at 66/4 in 12 overs in pursuit of chasing down 178 against a Gujarat Titans bowling attack, who bowled 26 dot balls in the first six overs.

With 112 more runs off 48 balls, not many would have given them a chance for a victory. But captain Sanju Samson unleashed by taking 20 runs off Rashid Khan in the 13th over to eventually make 60 while Shimron Hetmyer smashed a whirlwind unbeaten 56 off just 26 balls to give Rajasthan an improbable three-wicket victory.

The stunning last-over heist also means Rajasthan retain their top spot on the points table with eight points. Samson and Hetmyer added a crucial stand of 59 runs off 27 balls, followed by the latter adding 47 runs off 20 deliveries with Dhruv Jurel to complete the chase with four balls to spare.

Mohammed Shami built pressure from the word go while troubling Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler. Gujarat were rewarded when Hardik Pandya had Jaiswal nicking to slip while Buttler’s attempt to scoop backfired as Shami sent the off-stump on a cartwheel ride.

Gujarat could have got their third wicket had Shubman Gill held on to a tough chance at slip to dismiss Devdutt Padikkal. After the powerplay ended at 26/2, Rashid had Padikkal caught by short third man while Riyan Parag holed out to a forward diving long-off.

With Rajasthan at 66/4 in 12 overs, Samson breathed life back in the waning chase by hitting Rashid for a hat-trick of sixes — once over long-off while pulling twice over deep mid-wicket. Hetmyer took on Joseph by heaving past leaping deep square leg for six and slogging through the same region for four more.

After getting his fifty in 29 balls, Samson took on debutant spinner Noor Ahmad, lofting a drive over long-off for six and pulling past short fine leg for four. But the teenager, coming in as an impact player for Gill, had the last laugh as Samson skied to long-off to get his first IPL wicket.

Hetmyer stood tall by smacking two gigantic sixes off Joseph in the 16th over, with Jurel dabbing for a four. He then pulled Rashid for four, before slamming a six over long-on to take 13 runs off the 18th over. Jurel smacked Shami over long-on for six, but the pacer bounced back by having him top-edge a hook to fine leg.

Ravichandran Ashwin slapped his first ball over point for four, and followed it up with a pulled six over deep mid-wicket. Though Ashwin fell after slicing to short third man, Hetmyer finished off the chase by pulling Ahmad over deep mid-wicket for six to complete a sensational chase for Rajasthan.

Earlier, David Miller was dropped on six on his seventh ball as Adam Zampa made a mess of a regulation caught and bowled chance. He went on to top-score with 46 off 30 balls and powered Gujarat to a competitive 177/7.

Apart from Miller, Gujarat were also aided by 45 from Gill, 28 from Hardik and 27 from Abhinav Manohar at the back end. For Rajasthan, pacer Sandeep Sharma was pick of bowlers with 2/25, while Zampa, Yuzvendra Chahal and Trent Boult took a wicket each.

Pushed into batting first, Wriddhiman Saha gave a fat top-edge on a hoick and with wicketkeeper as well as two fielders converging, Boult took a catch on rebound off keeper’s gloves. Sai Sudharsan struck two fours, before being run out for 20.

Gill used his feet well in getting close to the pitch of the ball for sweeping and lofting off Ashwin for back-to-back fours. Hardik, promoting himself to number four, immediately attacked Zampa by swinging down the ground for a four and six respectively.

Ashwin came under further attack as Gill continued to use his feet to loft over extra cover for four and over long-on for six, while Hardik got an outside edge running past short third man for four as 17 runs came off the over.

But Chahal broke the 59-run partnership by having Hardik go for a cross-bat heave, but the ball spun away to take a top-edge to extra cover. Five overs later, Gill holed out to long-on off Sandeep. After being put down on six, Miller smacked Chahal for a brace of sixes in the leg-side.

Manohar hit Boult for back-to-back sixes in the 18th over a pull over long-on was followed by pummeling over long-off. In the next over, Miller pulled Zampa for four, before Manohar launched the leg-spinner high over long-on for six.

But Zampa had the last laugh by having Manohar slicing to point. Miller cracked consecutive fours on wide yorkers from Sandeep through the off-side, before slicing a high full toss to deep cover, as 11 runs came off the final over.

Brief Scores: Gujarat Titans 177/7 in 20 overs (David Miller 46, Shubman Gill 45; Sandeep Sharma 2/25, Adam Zampa 1/32) lost to Rajasthan Royals 179/7 in 19.2 overs (Sanju Samson 60, Shimron Hetmyer 56 not out; Mohammed Shami 3/25, Rashid Khan 2/46) by three wickets.

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Rajasthan Royals beat Chennai Super Kings in a last-ball thriller

Chasing a target of 176 on a slow turner and with dew coming down in copious amounts was expected to be easy for Chennai Super Kings in what was the 200th match for Dhoni as captain….reports Asian Lite News

A valiant blazing 32 not out off 17 balls by skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni went in vain as Chennai Super Kings lost to Rajasthan Royals by three runs in a last-ball edge-of-the-seat thriller in the India Premier League (IPL) 2023 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium here on Wednesday.

Chasing a target of 176 on a slow turner and with dew coming down in copious amounts was expected to be easy for Chennai Super Kings in what was the 200th match for Dhoni as captain. The CSK skipper made a brave effort by hitting two sixes in the final over but in the end, fell short narrowly.

But after recovering from the setback of losing Rituraj Gaikwad, their top scorer so far, for eight runs, but recovering to 78/1 thanks to Devon Conway and Ajinkya Rahane, CSK reached a stage with 40 needed off the last 12 deliveries, Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja pulled them to 21 off six and then seven off three deliveries. It boiled down to five runs off the final delivery faced by Dhoni when Sandeep Sharma, who had started the final over with two wides, bowled a good yorker to deny Dhoni the glory on his milestone day.

After deciding to bowl first and restricting Rajasthan Royals to what initially looked like a below-par 175/8 in 20 overs, Chennai could manage 172/6 in 20 overs and lost by a narrow margin.

Earlier, brilliant bowling by Rajasthan Royals spinner Ravichandran Ashwin (2-25) and Yuzvendra Chahal (2-27) off their respective four overs had hampered Chennai Super Kings’ chase as they had recovered from losing an early wicket to reach 78/1 in the 10th over.

Opener Devon Conway, who had struck Adam Zampa to two boundaries in the fifth over, and seasoned Ajinkya Rahane (31) had repaired the innings but things went downhill for CSK on their home ground after Ashwin had trapped Rahane in front to give Rajasthan Royals the much-needed breakthrough.

Ashwin also got Shivam Dube (8 off 9) while Adam Zampa accounted for the dangerous Moeen Ali (7 off 10) and Chahal sent back Ambati Rayudu (1) as Chennai Super Kings slumped to 103/5. Chahal then claimed the prized wicket of Devon Conway (50), and Chennai Super Kings looked down and out.

However, skipper MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja struck some big blows as they pulled CSK to 40 runs needed off the last two overs. Dhoni and Jadeja hammered Jason Holder for two sixes and a four as they raised 19 runs from the 19th over.

With CSK needing 21 runs off the last over, Sandeep Sharma started with a couple of wides and then Dhoni smacked sixes off the next two deliveries off two low full-tosses and Chennai needed seven from three deliveries.

He managed one run off the fourth delivery of the over and Jadeja could take a single off the fifth delivery, leaving it for Dhoni to get five runs off the last delivery to seal the victory. Sandeep Sharma bowled a superb yorker and Dhoni could manage only one run as Rajasthan Royals claimed a thrilling win.

Brief scores:

Rajasthan Royals 175/8 in 20 overs (Jos Buttler 52, Devdutt Padikkal 38, R Ashwin 30, Shimron Hetmyer 30 not out; Ravindra Jadeja 2-21, Tushar Deshpande 2-37, Akash Singh 2-40) beat Chennai Super Kings 172/6 in 20 overs (Devon Conway 50, Ajinkya Rahane 31, M.S Dhoni 32 not out, Ravindra Jadeja 25 not out; r Ashwin 2-25, Yuzvendra Chahal 2-27) by 3 runs.

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