IPL: Avesh, Stoinis help Lucknow pull off season’s lowest defence

On a slow Sawai Mansingh Stadium pitch, Lucknow Super Giants spoiled Rajasthan Royals’ homecoming in a game of middling totals by defending 154, the lowest total successfully defended this IPL.

Playing in Jaipur after almost four years, the Royals restricted Super Giants to 154 for 7.

In response, they were 89 for 1 after 12 overs, needing 66 from the remaining eight.

But Marcus Stoinis and Avesh Khan used the slowness of the surface to their advantage by banging the ball in the middle of the pitch to make run-scoring difficult.

As the asking rate mounted, so did the pressure on the Royals batters. With 48 required from four overs, Ravi Bishnoi conceded just six in the 17th.

In the next over, Devdutt Padikkal picked up three fours off Stoinis to keep Royals in the contest but Naveen-ul-Haq bowled an excellent 19th over, giving away just ten and leaving 18 to defend for Avesh.

Riyan Parag started the final over with a four, followed by a leg-bye, before Avesh dismissed Padikkal and Dhruv Jurel on successive deliveries to seal the result. (ESPNcricinfo)