Live blog - Pooran the key for LSG - Rajasthan Royals vs Lucknow Super Giants

An anticlimactic end after a pulsating chase, but that won't bother Rajasthan. They've landed an early blow in IPL 2024.

The numbers don't do justice to Sandeep's influence at the back end of this chase. Two boundaries in his third over include a last-ball four for Nicholas Pooran, but in conceding just 11 runs, he's left 27 to be defended in the final over.

That's the difficulty of having a new man at the crease. Stoinis has to go hard from the get-go, and Ashwin's carrom-ball has his measure. A slog to deep midwicket brings Krunal Pandya to the middle as the rate rises again.

It had been a relatively tight few overs as Rajasthan kept themselves in the fight, keeping that rate at roughly two a ball, although Nicholas Pooran's massive slapped six off Yuzvendra Chahal had been a reminder of the threat that still endures. But, from the very first ball after the strategic time-out, KL Rahul takes on the wide line from Sandeep Sharma, and picks out Jurel in the covers. He's gone for a well-made 58 from 44, ending a stand of 85 from 52, but as Marcus Stoinis joins the battle, has he left too much to do?

Props to Sandeep, too, whose first over had gone for just five runs, and whose tricky variations are proving hard to line up. Pooran does connect with a drag through midwicket to reach his half-century, but with 42 needed from 18 balls, the rate is just beginning to creep back up.

There's a real swing in momentum now, and Rajasthan are starting to feel the heat. At 102 for 4 in the 13th over, Trent Boult returns for his fourth and final burst, but Nicholas Pooran is waiting with anticipation for his offerings. A 20-run over ensues, including 6, 4, 6 in its midst, and suddenly the requirement is dipping towards 10.

Rahul, meanwhile, ticks along to his fifty from 35 balls. A perfectly even-paced response to that powerplay meltdown.

It's getting close to two runs a ball already, as Lucknow reach 76 for 4 at the half-way mark, with Pooran surviving a diving attempt from Parag at long-off to bring up his first six. But this chase is far from done yet, as Burger discovers in an expensive third over - 17 runs including a six and two fours from Rahul, the last of which is a delicate dab to use the pace through deep third.

He's taken on the breeze across the outfield, and Yuzvendra Chahal strikes in his first over to extend his lead at the top of the IPL all-time wickets stats. It's been an appropriately breezy knock from Hooda, 26 from 13 all told, including a second six over deep midwicket off Avesh Khan. But his attempt to charge Chahal ends in failure, as Dhruv Jurel judges his take well, five metres in from the rope.

It's going to be a long haul from here, but at least KL Rahul and Deepak Hooda are taking the fight back to Rajasthan in the powerplay. Hooda's first two scoring strokes are a six and a four in consecutive balls as he uses Burger's pace to pick off the deep third boundary, before Rahul recovers from another helmet-thumping bouncer from Boult to slog-sweep R Ashwin over deep midwicket for six.

Ashwin closes out the over to make it 47 for 3 in the powerplay.

A 147kph heat-seeker from Nandre Burger, and Ayush Badoni's day is done before it has begun, 1 from five balls, to go alongside his solitary over in RR's innings. It's the pace through the air from the most literal impact player imaginable, and it draws an unconvincing defensive drive through the full length. Jos Buttler pockets the offering at mid-off, and Lucknow's innings is in tatters at 11 for 3.

Padikkal succumbs to a savage one-two from Boult, as his encounter with his old RR team-mates ends in an abject three-ball duck. The first ball of Boult's second over is short and sharp, climbing into an attempted pull and sending his neck guard spinning. The next skids on low, but it's an unworthy stroke either way, right back on the stumps and wafting loosely across the line. Slams his middle and leg stumps, as Lucknow's powerplay goes from bad to worse.

For the 24th time in his IPL career, Trent Boult strikes in his opening over, and it's the prized scalp of Quinton de Kock, caught on the boundary at fine leg as he flicks across the line of what could have been a wide. His one scoring shot had been a quality one, a punched drive through a full-length outswinger, but he cannot see out the over as Boult angles the ball into his pads and lures the loose stroke.

A simple decision for Rajasthan, who send Hetmyer to warm the bench while bringing Nandre Burger into the game as the impact sub. And for Lucknow, KL Rahul will open with Quinton De Kock, as Trent Boult takes the new ball.

It's not quite 200 for Rajasthan, but 193 for 4 is imposing nonetheless, and it's capped by Samson's sixth six of his innings, a blazing inside-out drive over long-off to dent Mohsin Khan's final over. He could have left the final ball and got himself a wide, but got enough bat on it to finish unbeaten on 82 from 52 balls, a magnificent captain's knock.

And, as Sampath notes, it's a standard flying start to the tournament from Samson. Here are his first-match scores since 2020:

It's been a feisty over from Naveen-ul-Haq, and it should have been rewarded with a last-ball wicket. as Padikkal slides in from long-off to intercept a miscued back-foot slap from Jurel, but the chance goes to ground. Nevertheless, it's a boundary-less penultimate over, and given Rajasthan's designs on a 200-plus total, it's a priceless effort at this stage.

Fine margins in this game. An otherwise fine over from Yash Thakur ends with a leg-side wide that Lucknow attempt to review, on the assumption the ball has flicked the pad... but instead the no-ball siren goes off, and up comes a free hit. Samson sits deep in the crease to drive lustily over the bowler's head for his fifth six, as Rajasthan take full toll of the bonus ball.

The helmetless Hetmyer gives us a treat with his facial expressions as he snicks off to Ravi Bishnoi for 5 from 7, only to review the decision with mild disbelief, before throwing his head back in shock as Snicko delivers the bad news. No-one else was in any doubt, bowler, keeper or umpire, whose finger went up immediately.

It brings out Dhruv Jurel, whose composure in the England Tests was a wonder to behold, although his first shot in anger is so nearly his last. A fierce slap down the ground in the same Bishnoi over finds a diving Mohsin Khan at long-on, but his outstretched right hand can only palm the ball over the rope.

Samson remains in situ on 62 from 42 but hasn't seen much of the strike of late.

Parag is gone this time, for 43 from 29 balls, to end an enterprising 93-run stand from 62 balls with his captain, Samson. He might have gone first ball, but he grew into his role with aplomb, including - from his penultimate delivery - a fierce flat slap for six over long-off that was more tennis cross-court than cricket shot. But Naveen responded to that indignity with a sharp bouncer, drawing a top-edged pull to deep midwicket.

It's an important breakthrough, with RR on 142 with 31 balls to come, but with Shimron Hetmyer and Dhruv Jurel to come, it's probably not a cue for any let-up. Quite the contrary. 200-plus is very much on the cards at the strategic time-out.

Oh my, that's a horror drop from Mohsin Khan. On 29, Riyan Parag launches a huge swing through the googly from Ravi Bishnoi, a spiralling chance loops straight up in the air to backward square, and plops straight through the fielder's fingers as he completely misjudges it.

One ball later, Samson tucks a single to move along to a 33-ball half-century, one that's been studded with two fours and four sixes, the latest of which, off Bishnoi, brought up RR's century in the 11th over.

Shiva Jayaraman writes: Lucknow Super Giants seem to have done their homework on how to bowl at Yashasvi Jaiswal. They gambled by giving Mohsin Khan - who bowls at death too for them - his third over in the Powerplay and that paid off.

Jaiswal plays the pull really well – a whopping 32 of his 54 sixes off pacers in T20s have come playing that shot (where data available). Nearly one in three pulls that he attempts off pacers goes for a six. But it’s also the shot most likely to get him out. Jaiswal gets dismissed playing the pull every 8.8 balls in T20s. When he’s playing other shots, his dismissal rate is nearly three times that – once in every 24.1 balls on an average. With two bouncers per over allowed in the IPL now, it’s something that oppositions can be expected to try against Jaiswal. Team won’t mind trading a few runs to see his back early in the innings."

Whatever it was that Sanju Samson discussed during the strategic time-out, it has the desired effect as Yash Thakur enters the attack for the first over of the resumption. Three sixes pour forth from the bats of Parag and Samson, who caps a 21-run over with back-to-back launches over the leg-side from a brace of short balls. It's 89 for 2 at the ten-over mark after a tidier follow-up from Krunal.

Oh dear, you can hear the silence in Jaipur after that dismissal. One ball after leaning into an outrageous ramp for six over his shoulder and through fine leg, Jaiswal swings through a more standard pull shot but gets the ball high on his blade, for a simple lobbed catch to mid-on. Reward for Mohsin at the end of his three-over burst.

It's a tame end to a momentarily thrilling innings, and it's the cue for Rahul to turn to his spinner Krunal Pandya... who should by rights have had Parag caught off a leading edge for a first-ball 0, only for Samson at the non-striker's end to get in his way, completely inadvertently. The ball was plopping towards his helmet and he had nowhere to go, as the bowler wraps him in a hug instead.

It's been a sedate start for Rajasthan, but already it's clear that Jaiswal is in the mood. Doubtless flushed with confidence after his towering exploits in the Test series, he's eager to take the attack back to Lucknow wherever possible, not least with a step-away-and-slap cut against Naveen-ul-Haq in the fourth over. His brace of boundaries off Mohsin Khan were understated in their class too.

And now, as the back-end of the Powerplay approaches, here comes Sanju Samson, capitalising on the use of Mohsin for a third consecutive over to flash a powerful cut through point before rolling his wrists on a flat pull through backward square for the first six of the match.

An odd innings from Jos Buttler, never entirely in control on a pitch where those aforementioned cracks do seem to be causing some disruption. Both of Buttler's boundaries, off Naveen-ul-Haq, are on the streakier side of secure - an open-faced carve in the air over deep third, and a startling one-handed launch over wide long-on as he belatedly picked the slower ball and kept swinging his hands through the arc. But one ball later, Naveen finds some more late jag on a full length outside off, and KL Rahul - keeping wicket ahead of de Kock and Pooran, perhaps in a bid to enhance his value for the T20 World Cup - stoops well to gather.

Spidercam, Spidercam, disrupts games like a Spidercam can ... two balls into the contest, and a solitary run, and one of the cables has gone twang and is now lying on the outfield. We've got a lengthy delay while the engineers spin their web...

Mohsin Khan makes light of the delay to finish his over as he started it, just three runs in total, including a single apiece and a wide, and a ripper to finish, just eluding Jaiswal's edge.

Sanju Samson calls correctly, and chooses to take first use of a brown, dry surface with plenty cracks that could come into play later. It's a sea of pink in the Pink City, and those fans will be all the more thrilled at that decision. It means an early sighting of the Buttler/Jaiswal alliance at the top.

KL Rahul says he'd have done likewise, and confirms QDK, Stoinis, Pooran and Naveen as Lucknow's overseas players, meaning no outing for Shamar Joseph just yet. Rahul, incidentally, will keep ahead of de Kock.

Rajasthan, meanwhile, have opted for three overseas in their starting XI, with scope to sub in Rovman Powell or or Nandre Burger, depending on how the game is going. A good way to mitigate their lack of out-and-out allrounders.

Rajasthan Royals: 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 Jos Buttler, 3 Sanju Samson (capt & wk), 4 Riyan Parag, 5 Shimron Hetmyer, 6 Dhruv Jurel, 7 R Ashwin, 8 Sandeep Sharma, 9 Trent Boult, 10 Avesh Khan, 11 Yuzvendra Chahal

Lucknow Super Giants: 1 Quinton de Kock, 2 KL Rahul (wk), 3 Devdutt Padikkal, 4 Ayush Badoni, 5 Marcus Stoinis, 6 Nicholas Pooran, 7 Krunal Pandya, 8 Ravi Bishnoi, 9 Mohsin Khan 10, Naveen-ul-Haq, 11 Yash Thakur