IPL 2024: Sanju Samson, Hooda shine as Rajasthan Royals trounce Lucknow Super Giants

Lucknow: Sanju Samson and Dhruv Jurel struck unbeaten half-centuries to power Rajasthan Royals to an emphatic seven-wicket victory against Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL 2024 match on Sunday.

Samson smashed 71 not out from 33 balls, while Jurel got back among the runs with a sparkling 52 from 34 balls as the duo put on an unbroken stand of 121 runs for the fourth wicket.

Chasing 197 for victory, Royals eased to victory with an over to spare.

Royals continued to dominate the standings, as they registered their eighth victory from nine matches, while LSG are fourth with five wins from nine games.

Earlier, K L Rahul (76) dug deep with Deepak Hooda (50) to steer LSG to a competitive 196/5.

Rahul and Hooda gave LSG a solid footing with a 62-ball 115-run stand for the third wicket after early blows, but the failure of others meant the hosts could not capitalise on the hard work by the two.

Rahul's 48-ball 76 with eight fours and two sixes was his fourth fifty of the season, while Hooda banished his poor string of scores to make his first big score in IPL 2024.

Earlier, Trent Boult was unfazed after being hit for two fours on the trot by Quinton de Kock, knocking down the South African's off-stump on the third ball of the game.

Sandeep Sharma (2/31) left last match's centurion Marcus Stoinis in awe with a peach, getting the ball to nip back in and sneaking in between the Australian's bat and pads to hit the middle stump. A four-ball duck was what Stoinis could follow up with after his magnificent century against Chennai Super Kings.

A little slow to start, Rahul and Hooda did well to make up the lost ground in the middle overs.

LSG's comeback began in the eighth over when Rahul smacked Avesh Khan for 21 runs, including two sixes. Hooda welcomed back Boult with an 18-run 11th over including two fours, but the right-hander perished immediately after completing his fifty.

Rajasthan Royals pulled back things a bit in the death overs, conceding seven and six runs in the 18th and 19th overs before Ayush Badoni (18 not out) and Krunal Pandya (15*) scored 12 runs off the final over to ensure they reached a par score on this ground. Agencies

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