Chasing a target of 181, Rajasthan Royals looked like cruising towards victory having reached 156/2 at the end of the 17th over in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 clash against Lucknow Super Giants in Jaipur.
They needed 25 runs from 18 balls and with set batters Yashasvi Jaiswal (74) and Riyan Parag (28) in the middle, achieving the target looked like child's play.
However, they lost the plot and went down by two runs as pacer Avesh Khan picked 3-37 and defended nine runs in the final over as Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) defended 180 with aplomb and beat Rajasthan Royals by two runs at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Saturday.
Avesh, with his pin-point yorkers, removed set batters Jaiswal and Parag, before taking out Shimron Hetmyer in the final over and completing a memorable win for Lucknow Super Giants, leaving the home crowd stunned as Rajasthan Royals were restricted to 178/5 in 20 overs.
Riyan Parag, who was leading the side in the absence of an injured Sanju Samson, was really disappointed was the performance of his batters as they lost the plot in the final three overs and failed to finish the match.
Really hard to process all the emotions. Don't know what we did wrong. We were in the game till the 18th or 19th over. I don't know. I blame myself. I should have finished that game in the 19th over. We have to put up a game collectively.
Jaiswal and 14-year-old debutant Vaibhav Raghuvanshi had given Rajasthan Royals a great start as they raised 85 runs for the first wicket stand, the young Raghuvanshi from Bihar impressing everyone with 20-ball 34, smacking two fours and three sixes.
Jaiswal continued to flourish, completing his half-century in 31 balls, hitting three fours and four sixes. Though Nitish Rana was out for eight, Riyan Parag stayed at the wicket and helped raise 62 runs for the third wicket. Jaiswal was castled by Avesh Khan off the first ball of the 17th over and Parag followed suit five balls later as Rajasthan Royals' hopes fell apart.
Parag also blamed their efforts in the bowling, especially in the final over when Sandeep Sharma leaked 27 runs, with Abdul Samad smashing four sixes. Though David Miller dropped a straightforward catch offered by Shubham Dubey, in the end, that did not matter as LSG went on to win the match.
The last over was unfortunate. I thought we would have stopped them at 165-170. We gave 20 runs too many, but we should have chased it down.
Avesh Khan said his plan for the last over was to execute his yorkers to make things as difficult for the opponents. "I don't want to become Mitchell Starc, I want to become a good Avesh Khan. I wanted to bowl with clarity and take my time. Wanted to execute my yorkers. I wanted to focus on my execution. I wanted to stop the boundaries in the first three balls.
We wanted to take our time and set the field right in the last over. I kept thinking about the team and wanted to win the game for the team. It is a long tournament and I just want to do it for the team.
Earlier in the evening, Lucknow Super Giants rode on half-centuries by Aiden Markram (66) and Ayush Badoni (50) and a 10-ball unbeaten 30 by Abdul Samad to post a challenging 180/5 in 20 overs. Wanindu Hasaranga (2-31) was the most successful bowler for Rajasthan.
The total was sub-par but in the end, Avesh Khan's heroics helped them defend it and seal a narrow two-run victory.
Brief Scores: Lucknow Super Giants 180/5 in 20 overs (Aiden Markram 66, Ayush Badoni 50; Wanindu Hasaranga 2-31, Tushar Deshpande 1-26) beat Rajasthan Royals 178/5 in 20 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 74, Riyan Parag 39; Avesh Khan 3-37, Aiden Markram 1-18) by two runs.
