Lucknow, April 22 (IANS) A terrific Jofra Archer picked 3-20 as Rajasthan Royals’ bowlers produced a masterclass in successfully defending a modest total to defeat Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) by 40 runs in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 encounter at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.

Defending 159, the lowest score defended in this season, RR’s bowlers were right on the money from the word go, and backed by some superb fielding, they consigned LSG to their fourth consecutive loss of the season.

Archer found support in Nandre Burger and Brijesh Sharma, who picked two scalps each, while Ravindra Jadeja and Ravi Bishnoi had one wicket each as LSG were bowled out for just 119 in 18 overs, as RR have made a move to second place in the points table.

LSG’s chase began chaotically – on the final ball of the opening over, Ayush Badoni was run out for a duck following a massive mix-up. Captain Rishabh Pant’s inconsistent run continued when he fell for a three-ball duck in the second over, top-edging off Burger to the keeper Dhruv Jurel.

With head coach Justin Langer going to the dressing room from the dugout, the nightmare deepened for LSG when Archer returned to remove Aiden Markram for a duck with a steep bouncer, leaving them reeling at 16/3. By the end of the Powerplay, despite a six from Marsh, LSG were gasping at 31/3.

Mitchell Marsh fought a lonely battle, reaching a 39-ball fifty, but found no support. Nicholas Pooran (22) holed out to long-on off Ravindra Jadeja, as the middle-order crumbled under the pressure of a rising required run rate.

Ravi Bishnoi entered the fray to clean up Himmat Singh (15) with a quicker delivery, before Burger returned in the 16th over to claim the big scalp of Marsh, who made 55 off 42 balls laced with six fours and two sixes. Brijesh effectively ended the contest in the 17th over by removing Mukul Choudhary and Mohammed Shami in quick succession.

Archer then returned to apply the finishing touches – a spectacular catch from Jurel led to the dismissal of Mayank Yadav before he flattened Mohsin Khan’s middle stump with a pacy delivery to end LSG’s misery and give RR their first away win of the ongoing season.

Brief scores:

Rajasthan Royals 159/6 in 20 overs (Ravindra Jadeja 43 not out, Yashasvi Jaiswal 22; Mohsin Khan 2-17, Prince Yadav 2-29) beat Lucknow Super Giants 119 in 18 overs (Mitchell Marsh 55, Nicholas Pooran 22; Jofra Archer 3-20, Brijesh Sharma 2-18) by 40 runs

–IANS

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