A clinical bowling performance spearheaded by spinner Yuzvendra Chahal (4/41) and pacer Trent Boult (2/30) helped Rajasthan Royals beat Lucknow Super Giants by three runs in a low-scoring thriller in Match 20 of IPL 2022 at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday.
Boult struck two mighty blows in the first over, sending back skipper KL Rahul (0) and Krishnappa Gowtham (0) off the first two deliveries of LSG innings and Chahal took over the good work in the middle overs, as LSG slumped to 5-74 in the 12 over and though Quinton de Kock (39) held one end up for some time and Marcus Stoinis (38 not out off 17) landed some lusty blows in the last couple of overs, they could not drag Lucknow across the victory line.
LSG needed 13 runs off the last six deliveries but debutant Kuldeep Sen, a young right-arm pacer from Madhya Pradesh, bowled superbly to deny Stoinis the chance to become the hero.
Earlier, a brilliant late onslaught by Shimron Hetmyer (59 not out off 36 balls) and a tactical switch by R Ashwin, who became the first player in IPL history to get retired out, helped Rajasthan Royals reach a modest 165/6 in 20 overs.
Hetmyer and Ashwin came together with Rajasthan struggling at 67/4 and raised 68 runs in the partnership for the fifth wicket to take their team to safety.
With just 10 deliveries to go, Ashwin got 'retired out' after giving the strike to Hetmyer. The West Indies batsman struck three sixes, two of them off successive balls of AVesh Khan, as Royals raised 78 runs in the last five overs. They went on to defend that small total thanks to their bowling depth.
Rajasthan Royals 165/6 in 20 overs (Devdutt Padikkal 29, Shimron Hetmyer 59 not out, R Ashwin 28; K Gowtham 2/30, Jason Holder 2/48) beat
Lucknow Super Giants 162/8 in 20 overs (Quinton de Kock 39, Deepak Hooda 25; Yuzvendra Chahal 4/41, Trent Boult 2/30) by 3 runs
