Rajasthan Royals ended their two-game losing slide with a gutsy 40-run win over Lucknow Super Giants. Ravindra Jadeja’s all-round performance was at the heart of a match which subjected LSG to a fourth consecutive loss, as the veteran Indian all-rounder begins to show his worth in his second stint with the RR franchise.
With a crucial 43* from a tricky position in the first innings to figures of 1/29 in the second, Jadeja’s wicket of Nicholas Pooran was the moment that RR took the upper hand in the match while defending 160, and never relinquished it.
The out-of-form West Indian basher has struggled to find his power all tournament, losing the six-hitting ability that made him one of the scariest batters in the league in 2025. Against RR, he was watchful for the first 20+ balls of his innings, trying to rebuild after LSG were down to 11/3. But his first attempt at hitting the accelerator backfired as he miscued one off Jadeja, for an easy catch at long-on.
While Pooran’s bad form takes the headlines as LSG scramble for answers, Jadeja’s celebration was worth nothing. The all-rounder proceeded to point at Pooran with glee, before pointing back down into his pocket – a clear indication of a bowler who felt he had the rub of the green over his opponent.
“Yeah, he’s in my pocket (chuckles). Nothing, just randomly a thought came into my mind and I did it,” said Jadeja on the moment after the match.
RR back to winning ways
Jadeja’s celebration was also a recognition of a key period in the game – his wicket left LSG at 52/4, with not much batting to come after Pooran. Although RR thought they were under-par with a score of 159, following a top-order collapse, their own wickets early on thanks to Jofra Archer and Nandre Burger ensured that they held the advantage.
Mitchell Marsh would go on to score a half-century, but was not able to play as his usual destructive self as wickets tumbled around him. LSG might have held hope while the big Australian was at the crease, but his wicket was soon followed by Mukul Choudhary, who was unable to re-enact his heroics alongside the lower order from a couple of weeks prior against KKR.
The win moves RR back into second place in the table, relaxing nerves after a couple of scratchy losses, while LSG seem down and out near the bottom of the table in ninth place.