Batting first, RR lost Jos Buttler for 11 to Naveen-ul-Haq. Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal looked good for his 24 off 12 but was dismissed by Mohsin Khan. Samson and Riyan Parag (43 off 29) then added 93 runs for the third wicket as Rajasthan played themselves into a strong position. Samson hammered three fours and six sixes, while Parag hit one four and three sixes.
After Parag’s dismissal, Shimron Hetmyer fell for 5, caught behind off Ravi Bishnoi. However, Dhruv Jurel chipped in with a handy 20 not out off 12 balls to take RR past 190 in the company of skipper Samson. For LSG, pacer Naveen-ul-Haq two wickets for 41 runs in his four overs.
Chasing 194, LSG were off to a disastrous start as Quinton de Kock (4) and Devdutt Padikkal (0) fell to Trent Boult, while Nandre Burger got the wicket of Ayush Badoni (1). From 11/3, Deepak Hooda and Rahul lifted LSG. Hooda slammed two fours and two sixes in his 26 off 13 balls, but could not convert his start into a big score.
He fell to Yuzvendra Chahal as Lucknow Super Giants lost their fourth wicket with the score at 60. Rahul and Pooran added 85 runs for the fifth wicket. However, the LSG skipper was dismissed by Sandeep Sharma at the start of the 17th over. Marcus Stoinis (3) also fell to Ravichandran Ashwin as the chasing side lost momentum. They were eventually held to 173/6.
“Always great fun to spend time in the middle. Becomes more special when you win the game. This time I've been given different kind of role with slightly different combination we have. Sanga [Sangakkar] has given me some suggestions to follow. I've been playing IPL for 10 years - there has to be some experience coming in. I feel I need to spend more time and understand conditions,” Samson said after Rajasthan Royals’ victory.
--By A Cricket Correspondent
