Rajasthan Royals vs Lucknow Super Giants, 64th Match, Indian Premier League 2026 - CommentaryRR vs LSG, 64th Match, Indian Premier League 2026 - Commentary

A lap of honour to thank their fans and supporters in the stands. They're now off to Mumbai to face the 9th placed Mumbai Indians in another must-win game. That game is on Sunday and they'll probably know the equation needed for a playoff spot by then. As for the Super Giants, they will conclude a disappointing campaign with a match against the Punjab Kings at home. 6 games remain, and we still have a place up for grabs. KKR will look to keep their slim chances alive as they host the Mumbai Indians at the Eden Gardens tomorrow. Do join us for all the action. For now, cheers and bye...

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi: (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.

Yashasvi Jaiswal | RR stand-in skipper: (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.

Most times successfully chasing 220+ in IPL
4 - RR*
3 - PBKS
3 - SRH
2 - MI

Most times successfully chasing 200+ in IPL
11 - PBKS
8 - MI
7 - RR*
6 - SRH
5 - RCB, DC

Successful 200-plus run-chases for RR in IPL
224 vs PBKS, Sharjah, 2020
224 vs KKR, Kolkata, 2024
223 vs PBKS, Mullanpur, 2026
221 vs LSG, Jaipur, 2026*
215 vs Deccan, Hyderabad, 2008
210 vs GT, Jaipur, 2025
202 vs RCB, Guwahati, 2026

-- This is the first win for RR at Jaipur after five successive losses and only 2nd win out of 9 games at this venue since 2025.

Most runs by an uncapped batter in an IPL season
625 - Yashasvi Jaiswal (RR, 2023)
616 - Shaun Marsh (PBKS, 2008)
579 - Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (RR, 2026)*
573 - Riyan Parag (RR, 2024)
549 - Prabhsimran Singh (PBKS, 2025)
516 - Ishan Kishan (MI, 2020)
512 - Suryakumar Yadav (MI, 2018)

Yash Raj Punja: (on his approach in the game and the season so far) I just felt like with the way we started, I wasn’t really trying to go for anything too fancy. I was just trying to keep it simple and bring the pressure back onto the batting team. I was trying to stay composed and do my part. In regards to the season, I’ve tried to keep it simple and discuss with the coaches prior to the matches regarding what homework needed to be done for each batsman. It’s just about staying calm in the moment and trying to execute. (on handling pressure during the middle overs) Yeah, there was pressure in the previous game as well, but it’s all about learning from each experience. I feel like just taking a second longer to assess the condition and bowl kind of worked for me today. We just tried to keep it as tight as possible through the middle and the death bowlers did quite well as well. (on learning and improving at the age of 19) I’m just trying to take it a match at a time and learn as much as I can. I’ve already got a list of things I want to work on for when I come back next season. Just taking it a match at a time and learning as much as I can will be the answer for you. (on the team environment and being in fourth place) Yes, absolutely. It’s an amazing environment. The coaches and the captain as well make it very easy for us to go out and express ourselves. So yeah, it’s been great so far.

Rishabh Pant | LSG skipper: (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.

23:26 Local Time, 17:56 GMT, 23:26 IST: First win of the season here in Jaipur and it couldn't have come at a better time for the Royals. They have bounced back from a string of 3 successive losses and are now in pole position to beat their competitors for a place in the playoffs. Once again, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was the star performer as he overcame a nervy start to blast a 38-ball 93. Stand-in captain Yashashvi Jaiswal provided the start with 43 runs off 23 balls, while Dhruv Jurel anchored at one end with an unbeaten 53 runs off 38 balls. Lucknow was sloppy in the field, the bowling was erratic and they remain 10th in the table after tonight's loss. So what does this result mean for the rest of the table? PBKS can now reach only 15 points and must hope that RR lose their final game. For KKR, they not only need to win both their remaining games but also significantly lift their net run-rate (they will also hope that RR loses its last match). CSK and DC are barely hanging on; they must secure big wins in their last match and then hope RR loses theirs. Plenty of permutations and combinations - we'll have it covered though as await tonight's presentations.

Fiedling penalty for LSG as they defend 2 off the final over