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That is that for the weekend - three one-sided contests and a nerve-wracking thriller is what we witnessed. Not to forget that Tewatia finish that drew it in on Friday night. The IPL rolls on though so don't have those Monday morning blues for long - Sunrisers Hyderabad and Gujarat Titans will battle it out at the Dr. DY Patil Sports Stadium in Navi Mumbai later in the evening, and we're here to bring you all the action from that contest again on Sportskeeda. Thank you so much for tuning into our coverage of this contest, one which we hope you enjoyed as much as we did bringing to you. On behalf of my good friend and co-commentator Maanas Upadhyay, this is Sooryanarayanan Sesha once again reminding you to mask up and get vaccinated in case you haven't already. Goodnight, take care and here's to a great week ahead!
He's right up there among the pantheon of IPL greats is Yuzvendra Chahal. He's been a serial wicket-taker in the IPL and be it in the India blue, the RCB red or the RR pink, he continues to prize them out for fun. What a spell that was given that he had to bowl with the wet ball towards the back end of the innings as well and this spell has catapulted the Royals into pole position on the points table, with three wins from four games. Mind you, they've won all their games batting first as well and they're clearly making a statement this tournament alright. The Super Giants have lost their second close game but still have most components functioning well. They will look to bounce back against Mumbai Indians on Saturday (April 16) at the Brabourne Stadium, while the Royals next face the Gujarat Titans in Navi Mumbai on Thursday (April 14).
Yuzvendra Chahal is the Player of the Match for his spell of 4/41 off 4 overs.
Chahal: I used to do that (pick wickets) from the start. Just had a bad patch in between but I kept backing myself. My main strength is my mind - I didn't divert from what I usually do and continued to do the same. (On bowling with the wet ball) It is my duty and I was always ready bowl at any phase of the innings. I felt that the lesser runs I give initially the better it would be for us. I think I enjoyed the de Kock wicket the most since he was set and could have changed the game on his own. Except the last ball I bowled the rest of the spell was good (laughs). (On bowling it wide to Ayush Badoni) He stepped out first so I had the intuition that he might step out again so I decided to flight it wide. (On getting to 150 IPL wickets) I don't think much about it - even if I have a bad match, I don't think beyond half an hour since the pressure of the next match already sets in. No reels now - my wife's making the reels now (laughs).
Sanju Samson (Rajasthan Royals Captain): (On topping the table) It feels good. I'm only concerned about this game - great we won the game and we're happy in the dressing room. (On bowling Kuldeep Sen in the final over) It depended upon how he bowled in the first three overs. I got the intuition and feel that he's confident to bowl his wide yorkers which he was practicing in the nets. I saw him bowl those wide yorkers in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and then RR picked him up. I think he'll be a special talent. (On Trent Boult) He's brilliant on the field and off the field. He came around the wicket and bowled KL Rahul which was great. Conversations (with Hetmyer) are has he eaten and slept well, that's it (laughs). Not much to converse about, he knows what to do. (On Ashwin retiring out) It's about being Rajasthan Royals - we keep on doing something different (laughs). We talked about it before the season and thought that if a situation occurs, why not use it. Chahal is someone who can be given the ball from over 1 to 20. I think he's the greatest leg-spinner India has seen presently. His overs and Ashwin's 4 overs in the middle are crucial for us and I thought why not use him towards the end when the pressure is more.
KL Rahul (Lucknow Super Giants Captain): (On the first delivery) I didn't see it, that's all i can say. It was a good ball just gotta give it to him. Look I think we have a team that is never out of the contest. We bat really deep and have options with the ball. Even when were 20/3 we always believed that we could win this game. Obviously today we needed one good partnership in the middle overs but it never got going. Brilliant from Stoinis in the end to keep us in the game. Games like this will just give us confidence and remind us that we are a good team. We know how dangerous Stoinis is at the end and we wanted him after the 15th over. We will try to be a little unpredictable at times and shuffle the batting order. These targets can be tricky and we thought Gowtham can put the bowlers under the pump. We will be a team that will be unpredictable and make some moves that will be aggressive. We've done really well in the 4 games. Our death bowling is the one that has stood out. Today we could not execute the yorkers and our plans. Guys like Shimron can do the damage in the end if you miss your yorkers. But we will go back and work harder to execute our plans.
Trent Boult: (Going around the wicket) It was a late call and it was Jimmy Neesham's idea. Not going to give him much credit though (smiles). My role with the new ball is to be aggressive and take wickets in the powerplay. The plan is to pitch it up and get some swing on it. (Advice to Sen) He is a great man, runs in hard and he executed under pressure. He is going to grow from here. There's some quality fast bowling assets. It is very exciting to see the ball swinging around. (Watching his over before going to bed) I will probably watch my batting before my bowling. (On thanking Neesham) I won't but thank you (smiles).
Rajasthan Royals 165/6 in 20 overs (Shimron Hetmyer 59* off 36, Krishnappa Gowtham 2/30 off 4 overs) beat Lucknow Super Giants 162/8 in 20 overs (Marcus Stoinis 38* off 17, Yuzvendra Chahal 4/41 off 4 overs) by 3 runs.
Phew! What's with these games coming alive out of nowhere? Lucknow Super Giants were dead and buried for a good part of that chase but their latest arrival, Marcus Stoinis, almost made a grand announcement, falling just one hit away from pulling off a stunning jailbreak for his new franchise!
Defending 165, Trent Boult tore the Super Giants' top-order to shreds with two wickets off the first three deliveries he sent down - KL Rahul's castle was smashed down while Krishnappa Gowtham, surprisingly promoted up the order, could do nothing about a terrific inswinger that had him plumb in front. Jason Holder perished to a well-directed short delivery and the cookie seemed to crumble already for LSG.
Quinton de Kock was still there and in the company of Deepak Hooda, stitched a decent partnership to put the innings back on track. Just when Hooda looked to counter-attack though, his castle was ripped apart by debutant Kuldeep Sen. Wickets kept falling at regular intervals and it didn't help the Super Giants that de Kock couldn't face majority of the strike.
His wicket was pretty much the final nail in the coffin, with Marcus Stoinis pushed down to number 8 for some reason! Yuzvendra Chahal did Yuzvendra Chahal things and despite a poor wide call and an extra delivery that saw Avesh Khan clout him for a maximum, LSG needed 34 off the last 2 overs.
Stoinis then climbed into Prasidh Krishna and brought it down to 15 off the final over. Just when it seemed like there was a stunning heist to be witnessed though, young Kuldeep Sen threw himself into the ring comprising multiple other lesser known names to have made a splash this tournament. He didn't quite nail his yorkers, but he showed nerves of steel to cling on and pull the Royals through to the finish line!
We saw quite a few interesting set of events today though - Ravichandran Ashwin retired out, there were a couple of contentious decisions and the batting order of the Super Giants raised many an eyebrow! That said, it was down to Shimron Hetmyer's belligerent blitz that vaulted RR out of the abyss. That dropped catch was surely cashed in upon alright!
Check his veins for ice! Look at the smile on Kuldeep Sen's face - he shares a laugh with his skipper - he absolutely loved it alright! Heartbreak for Stoinis and the Super Giants but what a defense this has been. A game that looked dead and buried came alive out of nowhere. But in the end, Rajasthan Royals beat Lucknow Super Giants by 3 runs!
20
overs
162/8score
1
0
0
0
4
6
runs
Marcus Stoinis*
38(17)
Avesh Khan
7(2)
Kuldeep Sen
1/35
19.6 Kuldeep Sen to Marcus Stoinis, SIX! But it will not matter as Royals edge past LSG by 3 runs! Full and directed at the pads, Stoinis holds his ground and muscles that over the mid-wicket region for a maximum! Will not be enough and Kuldeep Sen has bowled an absolutely terrific over here! Under pressure and he has emerged to deliver the goods for his team!
10 needed off the last ball! A legal delivery is all that's needed again from Kuldeep Sen.
19.5 Kuldeep Sen to Marcus Stoinis, FOUR! STREAKY! Full and on the fourth stump line, stoinis shuffles across and throws the kitchen sink at that. Skews that off the outside edge and over the short third man fielder. To the fence!
Two legal deliveries! That's all the Royals need! Don't overstep or bowl a wide young Kuldeep, and your team's home! Stoinis looks despondent!
19.4 Kuldeep Sen to Marcus Stoinis, no run! Kuldeep has sealed it for RR! Length ball outside off, Stoinis swings across the line but cannot make any connection. The smile on Kuldeep's face illustrates everything that is needed to know!
Not quite in the blockhole but the job's well done for that delivery by Kuldeep Sen. Can he script a famous defense on debut? 14 needed off 3...
19.3 Kuldeep Sen to Marcus Stoinis, no run! A fine delivery by an under-pressure Kuldeep! A slower delivery but pitched very full. Stoinis has walked across and looks to scoop it but is through the shot early and misses. The ball thuds into his pads.
Trent Boult is positioned almost directly behind the umpire! That's some field position alright!
Priceless dot ball for the Royals!
19.2 Kuldeep Sen to Marcus Stoinis, no run, full and outside off, Stoinis shuffles across and slams that straight to the fielder at extra cover. Stoinis will feel that he missed out on that!
Stoinis is back on strike. That's exactly what LSG needed! The crowd's going ballistic!
19.1 Kuldeep Sen to Avesh Khan, a full toss on the fourth stump line, Khan chips that towards the sweeper cover fielder and the pair takes a single. Over to Stoinis to add the finishing touches!