RR win again!
Here are a few paras to sum up the day:
Over the last four days, the IPL has seen 262 being hunted down with ridiculous ease, and 211 chased down rather comfortably. Additionally, totals of 257 and 225 have almost proved to be short. So Rajasthan Royals being set 197 by Lucknow Super Giants at the Ekana Stadium hardly seemed challenging at the halfway stage.
But even so, RR were 78 for 3 after 8.4 overs of the chase after being 60 without loss towards the end of the powerplay. Ten overs into the chase, with RR requiring another 116, ESPNcricinfo’s forecaster gave LSG an 87.76% chance of winning. The momentum had all but tilted LSG’s way before Sanju Samson and an out-of-form Dhruv Jurel came to RR’s rescue. Both posted half-centuries and added an unbroken 121 in riposte to KL Rahul and Deepak Hooda’s own fifties and a 115-run stand for LSG, and took RR home with an over to spare.
As a result, RR bagged two more points to consolidate their position at the top of the points table, and have one foot into the playoffs with as many as five games remaining.