END OF OVER:20 | 8 Runs 2 Wkts | RR: 144/6 (11 runs required, RR: 7.20)
- Ravichandran Ashwin3 (2b)
- Riyan Parag15 (12b)
- Avesh Khan4-0-25-3
- Naveen-ul-Haq4-0-19-0
11:47pm Right. That will be that from us for tonight. But the action in the IPL comes thick and fast. We have a double-header tomorrow, with PBKS hosting RCB in the afternoon and DC clashing with KKR in the evening. Do join us for those games but until next time, this is me (Shashwat) signing off on behalf of Chandan, Ranjith and everyone else at ESPNcricinfo! Goodbye, goodnight and take care!
Marcus Stoinis, Player of the Match: (On his bowling) It was nice to get involved with the ball. There were not exact plans to get them out, it was about using the conditions and using my smarts as a bowler. (On his partnership with Pooran towards the end) That was what we identified. It was a tough wicket. It was about not setting your standards too high and understanding that we needed to put on a good total. You will have to ask the skipper (smiles) but I am good health-wise (to bowl regularly).
KL Rahul, Lucknow Super Giants captain: (On his right elbow) I got hit by a throw by one of my teammates, so I am maybe doing something wrong as a captain (chuckles). At the 10-over mark, the message we sent out was that maybe 165 is a good total, so, let us try to get to 160. Did not have to set ourselves very high. They are a quality team, they have good bowlers. We fell 10 runs short maybe but we made it up with the ball in the end. There was no dew and that was fair on both teams. (On how they arrived at a par score) We came in yesterday and we were thinking 180 is a par score. Knowing the batters they have, the mindset was to get 15 runs extra. When Boult bowled the first over, me and Kyle had a chat and we said that the ball was not coming on. We assessed it quite well but if there were a couple more partnerships in the middle, we could have gotten more. (Turning point) That Samson run out and two wickets falling back-to-back lets you to come back into the game. RR's top three-four are really strong and our plan was to get them out early, and it came via a run-out today.
Sanju Samson, Rajasthan Royals captain: (On how it feels to lose such a game) Obviously not great but we need to take the lessons and move on from here. With the batting line-up we have, that was a chaseable score. They bowled well, used the conditions well but I still believe it was a chaseable score. I was expecting something like this (the pitch), a bit of low bounce and I think we got something like that. We need to play smart cricket and we were going really well till about over 9-10. Then it was about getting one big over in the middle phase. They bowled well and when we tried to go hard, we lost wickets. (On learnings) Irrespective of whether you win or lose, you take lessons from the game. We did a good job restricting them to that score but learnings from there as well.
Kyle Mayers: It was a good victory. Any win away from home is good. (On his form) I think I have been batting well, from international cricket and into this tournament. (On the pitch) It was not best for stroke-play and I told myself early to not look for sixes and look for more boundaries. It was a difficult surface for any new batter to come in and start hitting. I thought we were in a situation where I needed to bat more balls on a difficult surface. I felt it (strike rate) was good, I tried to play the situation well, pick my match-ups and tried to capitalise. (On the pitch being two-paced) I think it was just low. It was not two-paced as much, it was more up-and-down bounce. Variable bounce was the hardest thing. It was about trying to hit the ball as straight as possible and access the off side.
Shaheer: "68 needed from 51 deliveries with 10 wickets in hand and they have defended it successfully. Incredible from LSG."
11:20pm Wow, that game ebbed, flowed, twisted, turned and ultimately ended in LSG's favour. At the half-way stage, it felt that they did not have enough runs on the board. As it turned out, they did. That was largely down to how well they bowled, and how brilliantly they used the conditions and the dimensions.
RR, after a strong powerplay, could not cash in against the spinners and with Buttler not being at his fluent best, they handed over the initiative to LSG. Samson's run out did not help either and while Padikkal and Parag tried to make a dash towards the end, their intent and execution left a bit to be desired, especially as the run-rate kept climbing post Hetmyer's dismissal in the 16th over.
Two legal deliveries, and LSG are home. Avesh, meanwhile, is on a hat-trick. He has Ashwin in his sights
DC Jurel c Hooda b Avesh Khan 0 (2m 1b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.00
Right. Jurel is here. Can he produce something special tonight?
D Padikkal c †Pooran b Avesh Khan 26 (36m 21b 4x4 0x6) SR: 123.80
Avesh and Rahul are taking their time to figure out what their plan exactly is
LSG, because of their slow over rate, only have four fielders outside the circle. Long off, long on, deep mid wicket and deep square leg on the fence
Naveen has been superb tonight, and this 10-run over has given Avesh 19 runs to defend. Can Parag take him down? He will be hitting to the longer leg-side boundary
END OF OVER:19 | 10 Runs | RR: 136/4 (19 runs required from 6 balls, RR: 7.15, RRR: 19.00)
- Devdutt Padikkal26 (20b)
- Riyan Parag11 (10b)
- Naveen-ul-Haq4-0-19-0
- Marcus Stoinis4-0-28-2
Padikkal is hitting to the longer leg-side boundary
Parag is 3 off 7 too
29 needed off 12. Padikkal on strike to Naveen, who has only given away nine runs in his three overs so far. Where is this game heading?
END OF OVER:18 | 13 Runs | RR: 126/4 (29 runs required from 12 balls, RR: 7.00, RRR: 14.50)
- Devdutt Padikkal24 (17b)
- Riyan Parag3 (7b)
- Marcus Stoinis4-0-28-2
- Ravi Bishnoi4-0-25-0
42 off 18 now. RR well and truly under the pump; LSG clearly in the ascendancy
END OF OVER:17 | 6 Runs | RR: 113/4 (42 runs required from 18 balls, RR: 6.64, RRR: 14.00)
- Riyan Parag3 (7b)
- Devdutt Padikkal11 (11b)
- Ravi Bishnoi4-0-25-0
- Avesh Khan3-0-18-1
More than 12 runs per over required now