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The Rajasthan Royals defended 159 runs to beat the Lucknow Super Giants by 40 runs in Lucknow. With this win, RR move to second place in the table, while LSG are second from bottom in the IPL 2026 standings.
Chasing 160 for the win, LSG were 31/3 after the first six overs as the hosts started slowly against a dominant RR pace attack. Jofra Archer took 3 wickets, and Nandre Burger and Brijesh Sharma took 2 each to take RR to a win.
Speaking after the defeat, Rishabh Pant admitted that the batting let the team down. The Indian star further added that his team will have to stick together to make a comeback this season.
“I think it is difficult to explain. Like it`s definitely our batting is letting us down, but at the same time, we are disappointed as a team, as a group, but at the same time, you`ve got to keep finding ways. You have to look for answers inside, not outside, but that`s how it is as of now. See, definitely we could have taken some time while batting and at the same time, you know, not making any excuse out there, like, you know, including myself in that, like we could have taken it a little deeper because I think the bowlers did a fantastic job, especially after the last game. As a batting group, we need to put our hand up and try to finish that job for the bowlers also. We surely know that we have enough firepower in our bowling and batting, and we can still turn it around. That`s what I believe in.” Rishabh Pant said.
Ravindra Jadeja took RR to 159 runs in the first innings
Earlier, the Rajasthan Royals were restricted to 159 for the loss of 6 wickets by the Lucknow Super Giants. The hosts got early wickets in the powerplay and looked in control of the match.
RR openers Jaiswal and Sooryavanshi departed early, and Dhruv Jurel was dismissed for a first-ball duck. Captain Riyan Parag was dismissed trying to stabilise the RR innings, which looked to be crumpling at the halfway stage in the first innings.
However, Ravindra Jadeja scored a fighting 43 runs in 29 balls to take RR to a competitive total of 159 runs. The Indian star scored 20 runs in the last over, giving RR a strong finish to the innings.
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