IPL 2022: All-round Trent Boult helps RR defeat LSG by 24 runs to move to the 2nd spot

Rajasthan Royals came up with an emphatic performance to beat Lucknow Super Giants in Match 63 of IPL 2022 at the Brabourne Stadium on Sunday and jump to the 2nd spot in the points table. Rajasthan now have one leg in the playoffs as they leapfrogged Lucnow despite being tied on 16 points each due to a better Net Run Rate.

The race for the IPL 2022 playoffs has reached the business end as Gujarat Titans are sitting pretty at the top with 20 points while both Lucknow and Rajasthan are with 16 points. Both Rajasthan and Lucknow have a good chance to make the playoffs while the battle for the 4th spot has heated up.

Rajasthan Royals posted 178 on the board after a collective effort wit the bat and it proved to be enough as Lucknow Super Giants struggled to get going despite a 65-run stand between Deepak Hooda and Krunal Pandya for the 4th wicket. The Royals fell to a 24-run defeat after losing 8 wickets.

Trent Boult wreaked havoc in his second over, removing Quinton de Kock and Ayush



Badoni in successive deliveries. Prasidh Krishna picked up the biggest wicket of the evening, removing KL Rahul for 10 from 19 balls as the Lucknow captain had a rare failure.

Lucknow's chances took a big blow as they were reduced to 29/3 in the powerplay but Krunal and Hooda revived the ship.

However, Rajasthan's spin twins picked up the crucial wickets of the two well-set batters. While Ashwin sent back Krunal in a stunning spell of 1/24 in 4 overs, Chahal got Hooda in the 16th over. The Baroda batter was the only bright spot for LSG as he hit 59 off just 39 balls, taking on the Rajasthan bowlers with authority.

Obed McCoy, who returned to the side, jolted LSG's chances by picking up the wickets of Jason Holder and Dushmantha Chameera in the same over.

Big-hitting Marcus Stoinis hit 27 from 17 balls but all it did was help LSG cut down the margin of defeat, which is crucial to their chances of reaching the playoffs amid the spiced-up battle for the top 4.