Rajasthan Royals faced another heartbreak as they fell short by just two runs against Lucknow Super Giants, despite strong performances from Yashasvi Jaiswal and debutant Vaibhav Suryavanshi. Suryavanshi, at just 14 years and 23 days old, made history as the youngest player to debut in the IPL and showed no signs of nerves as he smashed a six off Shardul Thakur in his very first ball and went on to score 34 off 20 balls.
With captain Sanju Samson sidelined due to injury, Suryavanshi partnered with Jaiswal to form an 85-run opening stand before being dismissed. Jaiswal continued his good form with a half-century, but the Royals faltered in the end as Avesh Khan’s three wickets in the final over sealed their fate. The loss mirrored their previous match against Delhi Capitals where the middle-order failed to finish the game.
Lucknow Super Giants’ Aiden Markram and Ayush Badoni both scored fifties, but it was Abdul Samad’s heroics in the final over that proved to be the difference. Samad’s four sixes off Sandeep Sharma helped LSG add 27 runs in the last six balls, ultimately costing the Royals the match. Despite a disciplined bowling performance led by Jofra Archer, the Royals were unable to chase down the target of 181 runs.
The defeat was a bitter pill to swallow for Rajasthan Royals, who will need to regroup and address their middle-order woes if they are to bounce back in the tournament.
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