Mumbai: Breezy knocks by Yashasvi Jaiswal (41 off 29 balls), skipper Sanju Samson (32 off 24) and Devdutt Padikkal (39 off 18) helped Rajasthan Royals post a par score of 178/6 in 20 overs against Lucknow Super Giants at the Brabourne Stadium here on Sunday.
With Lucknow Super Giants needing a win to claim the second spot in the points table, skipper KL Rahul was happy to bowl first as Samson won the toss and elected to bat.
Rajasthan suffered an early setback as their top batter Jos Buttler, who leads the chart for most runs with 627 runs including three centuries, was out with the score of 11. Jaiswal and Samson added 64 runs for the second wicket but both got out when they were looking good for a bigger score — Jaiswal top-edging a skier to bowler Ayush Badoni and Samson holing out to Deepak Hooda off Jason Holder.
Padikkal kept the Rajasthan Royals going with an 18-ball 39, hitting five boundaries and two sixes before he was out, caught by Krunal Pandya off Ravi Bishnoi.
Riyan Parag (19 off 16), Jimmy Neesham (14 off 12) and Trent Boult (17 not out off 9) ensured Rajasthan Royals reached a par total. However, Rajasthan may have fallen short by 10-15 runs on a pitch that is playing a bit slow and is expected to ease out further in the second innings.
Ravi Bishnoi was the most successful bowler for LSG with 2/31 while Avesh Khan (1/20), Jason Holder (1/12) and Ayush Badoni (1/5) were the other successful LSG bowlers.
Brief scores: Rajasthan Royals 178/6 in 20 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 41, Devdutt Padikkal 39, Sanju Samson 32; Ravi Bishnoi 2/31) against Lucknow Super Giants.
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