Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) were defeated by the Rajasthan Royals (RR) by seven wickets at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Tuesday, May 19.

Yashasvi Jaiswal stepped into the captaincy role as Riyan Parag was ruled out due to a hamstring niggle. He opted to bowl first after winning the toss. Mitchell Marsh and Josh Inglis got the visitors off to a blistering start, smashing 109 runs inside nine overs.

After Inglis was dismissed for 60, Nicholas Pooran hit two lusty blows before becoming Yash Raj Punia's second victim on the night. Rishabh Pant joined forces with Marsh and the experienced duo added 64 runs in 41 balls.

Pant was dismissed for 35 in the last over. Marsh departed four balls later, four runs short of his second century this season. Both batters were run-out. Jofra Archer dismissed Ayush Badoni with a cracking yorker off the last ball as LSG finished on 220/5.

In the second innings, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi added a 75-run stand inside seven overs. After the former was dismissed, Dhruv Jurel joined forces with Sooryavanshi. They forged a 105-run stand off just 45 balls to take the Royals to the brink.

Sooryavanshi was unfortunate to miss out on a century. He was dismissed by 93 runs off 38 balls. After he departed in the 14th over, Lhuan-dre Pretorius walked out to bat. However, he was run-out by Ayush Badoni in the 17th over.

In the end, the home side romped home in 16.2 overs with seven wickets to spare, with Jurel and Donovan Ferreira remaining unbeaten.

Talking Points: Mitchell Marsh plays a blinder

Mitchell Marsh hit the ground running on Tuesday, hitting boundaries for fun inside the power play. However, he dug deep in the latter half of the innings, forging a crucial partnership with Rishabh Pant.

In the last over, Marsh seemed set to score a century, but a brilliant throw from Yashasvi from the deep found him short of the crease.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi enthrals Jaipur

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is a determined cricketer, but on Tuesday, it was great to watch him dig deep and allow Yashasvi Jaiswal to play the aggressor's role in the power play. However, after Yashasvi was dismissed after the power play, Sooryavanshi shifted gears, and the LSG bowlers had no answer to the carnage he caused.

Dhruv Jurel plays the perfect supporting role to Sooryavanshi

When Dhruv Jurel walked out to bat, Rajasthan still had a long way to go in the run-chase.

The wicketkeeper-batter understood that Sooryavanshi was going to go berserk, and he decided to drop anchor and play the supporting role. Jurel showed great maturity, taking his team home with an unbeaten 53-run knock off 38 balls with the help of three fours and three sixes.

Who said what? Rishabh Pant, Lucknow Super Giants (Losing Captain)

(on the score of 220 at the halfway stage) I think there are a few ways to look at it.

In the middle overs and then in the last over, the way Archer bowled, I think it was really good. But we could have actually scored five or ten runs more on this kind of wicket when you get that kind of start, and we just couldn’t capitalize in the last over. (on defending a score on such a batting-friendly surface) It’s definitely a difficult one for sure because you always want to back your bowlers, but sometimes it’s hard. On a wicket like this, there is less margin for the bowlers and having too many suggestions doesn’t work out. Sometimes you have to keep a simple plan, keep focusing one ball at a time and just try to execute the plan. (on the value of experience and missing Shami) Experience is something you’re always going to miss regardless of whether things go good or bad because experience can’t be earned overnight. It takes years for people to gain that experience and definitely in pressure situations, that is one thing which keeps you ahead for sure. (on holding back Shahbaz Ahmed until the final over) Definitely because of the left-handers. They had been batting for a brief period of time and exposing a left-arm spinner, we didn’t want that, especially because Rathi was there in the side, so why take a chance on Shahbaz when Rathi is there in the side. (on the team despite the results) Like I said, we are proud as a team regardless of what our situation is right now. The kind of team we have, we know we can win this. Regardless of anything, we are confident enough as a team and as individuals. It hasn’t gone our way and everyone knows that, but that doesn’t take away the fact that we are a f**#ing good team.

Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rajasthan Royals (Winning Captain)

(on the importance of the win) I think everyone put in the hard yards and they played really well. Everyone was into the game and working towards it. The way Jofra bowled and the way Brijesh bowled, because we knew the wicket was pretty good and runs were going to come. The way Jofra came back initially in the powerplay as well, I think it was unbelievable. The way Vaibhav batted and Dhruv batted, I think they killed the game. Absolutely amazing. I’m really happy for the team, we needed it. And of course all the support staff have put in a lot of work behind the scenes as well, so I think it’s unbelievable. Very grateful. (on managing the bowlers during the innings) I think Brijesh had some niggles and Sandy(Sandeep Sharma) Bhai also, so I had to manage in the game. I wanted to bring Deshpande in, so if he could bowl well, I could give him one or two overs. So it was all about the decisions on what I wanted to do and I felt really good, whatever I was thinking was working. I really enjoyed it. The way they showed character and came and bowled in their areas, because I know that on this wicket the runs are going to come. We have to understand that if we bat, we will go for it and try our best. So I think it was unbelievable. (on the belief in the camp while chasing 220) I think we were just keeping it simple. I wanted to go in and play good cricketing shots and get the momentum. Me and Vaibhav were talking about that as well, that whoever is in should make sure he bats till the end. The way he batted, he killed the game as well. So I really enjoyed it. (on the next game and staying relaxed) I just want to play with a smile and enjoy the beautiful game of cricket. I think that is the fun. If we go and enjoy and relax with a smile, whether things are going our way or not, we need to be balanced and enjoy the game, enjoy the crowd, the fans’ love and everything. I think it’s incredible that we can put our efforts into it.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Player of the Match

(Translated from Hindi) - (on winning his third Player of the Match award at a crucial time for the team) Nothing much. I was just thinking because I was sitting outside during the bowling innings and the wicket looked good. I was thinking that today I shouldn’t rush too much at the start, I should take some time and if I bat for a longer period, it’s going to help the batter at the other end as well. (on starting slowly but still reaching fifty quickly) That was the mindset. I know I can hit two or three boundaries or sixes anytime, so I can take a little more time and not rush too much and try to take the game till the end. (on dealing with all the attention and praise at a young age) Nothing much. I don’t really see too much, I don’t read newspapers and all, so I don’t think too much about it. I just think that this is only the start. If my career becomes long and I play for a long time, people will say many more things. My focus should just remain on the game and I should complete my journey. (on his celebration) Sir, I don’t know. I just do something new every match. I don’t really plan it. There’s no meaning behind it. Even the celebration I did in the last match had no meaning. I just keep trying new things. (on waiting for the final game and the team’s mindset) Nothing much. Our focus is just that we should enjoy ourselves. In the next game also we shouldn’t focus too much on off-field things. Everyone should focus on the game and play with enjoyment, the way we’ve been doing throughout the tournament. There have been ups and downs in the tournament, but our focus is to play good cricket and win games, that’s all.