Lucknow's thrilling victory.

Lucknow Super Giants secured their fifth win in the Indian Premier League (IPL), defeating Rajasthan Royals by 2 runs in a thrilling encounter, earning 10 points.

Chasing a target of 181 runs, Rajasthan was restricted to 178/5 in 20 overs. Despite being close to victory, Rajasthan suffered a narrow loss. Openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Sunil put on a solid 85-run partnership for the first wicket, with Vaibhav dismissed for 34 runs. Soon after, Nitish Rana fell for 8 runs.

Yashasvi remained at the crease and scored a half-century, playing a knock of 74 runs from 52 balls, including 5 fours and 4 sixes. At 156 runs, Rajasthan had lost 3 wickets. Captain Riyan Parag contributed 39 runs.

In the final 6 balls, Rajasthan needed 9 runs to win. Dhruv Jurel managed 1 run off the first ball, after which a change in the bowler took place due to an issue with the delivery. On the second ball, Simran Hetmyer added 2 runs, but was dismissed for 12 runs on the third ball, increasing the pressure on Rajasthan.

Shubham Dubey played solidly on the fourth ball, adding 2 runs on the fifth ball, leaving Rajasthan needing a boundary off the last ball to win. However, Dubey could only manage a single off Avesh Khan's delivery, and Lucknow claimed a dramatic 2-run victory.

Avesh Khan was the top bowler with 3 wickets, while Shardul Thakur and Aiden Markram each took 1 wicket.

Winning the toss and opting to bat first, Lucknow posted a total of 180/8 in their allotted 20 overs. Aiden Markram and Ayush Badoni both scored half-centuries in the innings.

Markram was the top scorer, making 66 runs off 45 balls, including 5 fours and 3 sixes. Ayush contributed 50 runs off 34 balls, with 5 fours and 1 six.

Abdul Samad added an unbeaten 30 runs off just 10 balls, hitting 4 sixes. Nicholas Pooran chipped in with 11 runs, while other batters failed to reach double digits.

Wanindu Hasaranga was the best bowler for Rajasthan, taking 2 wickets, while Jofra Archer, Sandeep Sharma, and Tushar Deshpande each claimed 1 wicket.

With this win, Lucknow earned 10 points and climbed to 4th place in the points table. Rajasthan, on the other hand, suffered their 6th loss and remains in 8th place with just 4 points.