Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) beat Rajasthan Royals (RR) by 10 runs in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 yesterday at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur. First ball after winning the toss, Rajasthan did well to restrict Lucknow to 154/7. However, RR ran away in the chase, finishing 144/6.

Rajasthan dominated the first half with the bat as Yashasvi Jaiswal (44 off 35) and Jos Buttler (40 off 41) added 87 for the opening wicket. However, once the duo broke up, RR went astray. Jaiswal was the more confident of the two as Buttler struggled for pace. The latter, however, started Yudhvir Singh for a 112-yard six in the fifth.

The opening wicket was stopped in the 12th over when Jaiswal, after hitting Marcus Stoinis for a six, gave the short man a third. A collision between Buttler and Sanju Samson (two) in the race led to the latter's exit. RR wanted Buttler to continue after that, but he dug into deep midwicket, trying to follow Stoinis.

Shimron Hetmyer (two) fell cheaply for a change, ending up Avesh Khan in the last over. "Impact player" Devdutt Padikkal (26 off 21) gave Rajasthan hope by hitting Stoinis four times in the 18th over.

The total came down to 19 in the end. But Avesh dismissed Padikkal and Dhruv Jurel (0) in successive deliveries to seal the match for LSG.

Ashwin and Boult held Lucknow to 154/7

RR off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin claimed 2/23 and Trent Boult 1/16 as Lucknow made 154/7 after being called to bat. With a disappointing batting effort, LSG's innings never really got going despite KL Rahul and Kyle Mayers adding 82 for the first wicket.

Boult started with a maiden and LSG went 37/0 at the end of the power play. It could have been worse on the batting side as Rahul bowled twice - six and 12. The openers broke the chain as Mayers hit Jason Holder for six and eight, while Rahul hit four. Eighteen points followed as the LSG duo attacked Yuzvendra Chahal.

The opening innings ended when Rahul (39 off 32) caught the catcher. Boult then dismissed Ayush Badoni (single) as the batter missed his catch. Mayers hit his 50 from 40 balls even as Deepak Hooda (two) fell for another low score, caught as he missed a big catch from Ashwin. The off-spinner handed Lucknow another over, dismissing Mayers for 51.

 Stoinis scored 21 off 16, while Nicholas Pooran (29 off 20) hit Holder for four fours and a six in the penultimate innings. Overall, though, it's a struggle for most LSG players. Lucknow lost three wickets in the final over, which lasted just eight runs.