The 26th match of the TATA IPL 2023 between Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) saw the latter emerge victorious by 10 runs at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. After winning the toss, RR chose to bowl first. Kyle Mayers' steady innings of 51 runs off 42 balls, followed by quick cameos from Marcus Stoinis (21 off 16) and Nicholas Pooran (29 off 20), helped LSG reach a total of 154/7.
In response, RR got off to a solid start with Jos Buttler & Yashasvi Jaiswal scoring at around seven-and-a-half runs an over. However, LSG's disciplined bowling, led by Avesh Khan's impressive figures of 3/28, saw RR choke and lose wickets in quick succession. Riyan Parag and Devdutt Padikkal put up a fight in the last over, but LSG held their nerve to restrict RR to 144/6.
Jaiswal's aggressive knock of 26 runs off 12 balls, which included two fours and two sixes, got RR off to a great start. However, they lost their momentum as LSG's bowlers began to take control. Stoinis got Jaiswal caught at short third man, and RR lost captain Sanju Samson as well, following a mix-up with Buttler while attempting a quick single. The in-form Shimron Hetmyer (2 off 5) failed to make an impact and holed out to long on in the 16th over on Avesh Khan's Bowl. Padikkal hit three fours off Stoinis to bring RR back into the game, but he fell to Avesh Khan in the penultimate over. Parag struck a six off Naveen-ul-Haq in the same over, but Avesh Khan delivered an excellent final over, picking up two wickets and conceding just eight runs, to help LSG seal a 10-run win.
LSG made one change to their lineup, with Naveen-ul-Haq replacing Mark Wood. RR made one change as well, with Jason Holder replacing Adam Zampa. Lucknow Super Giants' substitutes were Jaydev Unadkat, K Gowtham, Daniel Sams, Prerak Mankad, and Amit Mishra. Rajasthan Royals' substitutes were Devdutt Padikkal, Murugan Ashwin, Joe Root, Donovan Ferreira, and Navdeep Saini.
Overall, it was a well-fought match that saw LSG put up an impressive performance with both bat and ball to secure the win.