IPL 2024: RR start their campaign with win over LSG
Rajasthan Royals (RR) won their 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) opener after outclassing Lucknow Super Giants at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur. The Royals successfully defended 193, with fifties from KL Rahul and Nicholas Pooran going in vain. Trent Boult took two crucial wickets for RR. Earlier, Sanju Samson played a scintillating knock to power RR past 190. Here are the key stats.
A look at match summary
RR had a forgettable start after electing to bat. They lost Jos Buttler (13/1) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (49/2) in the Powerplay. Samson and Riyan Parag then stitched a 93-run stand. The former, alongside Dhruv Jurel, guided RR to 193/4. LSG lost Quinton de Kock, Devdutt Padikkal, and Ayush Badoni quite early. Rahul and Pooran brought LSG back, but they fell 20 runs short.
Samson slams an unbeaten 82
Skipper Samson came to the middle after RR lost opener Buttler for 13 runs on the board. Jaiswal, who smashed a 12-ball 24, also departed inside the Powerplay. Samson then paired up with Riyan, taking the Royals past 140. The former slammed a 52-ball 82*, a knock laced with 3 fours and 6 sixes. It was his 21st half-century in the IPL.
Second RR batter with 20 fifty-plus IPL scores
Samson recorded his 20th fifty-plus score for the Royals in the IPL. His tally includes two half-centuries). The 29-year-old is the second batter to score as many fifty-plus scores for RR in the cash-rich league. He joins Buttler, who tops the list with 23 fifty-plus scores. Buttler has a total of five tons for RR in the tournament.
Seventh instance of Samson scoring six maximums in a match
As mentioned, Samson hammered six maximums in the match. As per Bharath Seervi, he has slammed six-plus sixes in an IPL innings the joint fourth-most times (7) with Shane Watson. They are only behind Chris Gayle (22), AB de Villiers (11), and Andre Russell (9).
Boult strikes again in Powerplay
Left-arm seamer Boult struck in the very first over, removing de Kock. He knocked over Padikkal soon after. Boult, who didn't strike thereafter, conceded 35 runs in four overs. The RR pacer now has 52 wickets in the first six overs, the most by an overseas bowler in the IPL. Boult remains the only overseas bowler with over 50 IPL wickets in this phase.
Riyan bounces back in style
Riyan smashed 43 off 29 balls, a knock studded with a four and 13 sixes. It was his first 40+ score in the tournament since the 2022 edition. Riyan scored an unbeaten 56 against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in IPL 2022.
