In match no.32 between the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and the Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Ekana Stadium, Lucknow. LSG captain Rishabh Pant won the toss and elected to field first. RR had a good start after being invited to bat first. However, Mohammed Shami pulled the team back after picking two wickets in two consecutive balls.
However, for the first wicket of Yashasvi Jaiswal, it was more of a Rishabh Pant’s wicket as he took a brilliant one-handed catch behind the stumps to dismiss his India teammate. Pant went flying one-handed above his head as Shami bowled a bouncer, which was gloved by Jaiswal, and Pant did the rest to give the first breakthrough for the side.
Rishabh Pant and Mohammed Shami combine for two wickets
Mohammed Shami has once again been running after a poor last match, as he bowled in the right area, and after being struck with three back-to-back fours, he came back hard against Jaiswal, and in the following ball, Dhruv Jurel also nicked one back to Rishabh Pant.
Mohammed Shami has put LSG right on top 💪
P.S. How about that first catch from Rishabh Pant 🤯#LSGvsRR #IPL2026pic.twitter.com/TxjfTyGTtE
— Cricbuzz (@cricbuzz) April 22, 2026
Rishabh Pant has not had the best time with the bat as he has scored just one fifty in the tournament, and his captaincy has also been called into question, with a lot of experimentation in the top order.
RR top order back early
After the first two wickets in the following over, Mohsin Khan dismissed Vaibhav Sooryavanshi after the Southpaw was under pressure playing five dot balls and played a rash shot with Digvesh Rathi taking a good catch. With RR now in trouble 32/3 as their top order is once again back early.
Rajasthan have relied on their top 3 as their middle order has not made many runs in the IPL so far. Captain Riyan Parag and Shimron Hetmyer have failed to bag runs in the tournament, and this will be a huge test for the two as they are at the crease and score runs for the franchise to pull the side into the game.
I was very confused- Riyan Parag
Parag was unsure and was happy to lose the toss as he did not know what to do. RR come into this match after two thumping defeats from the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). RR played the same team that played against KKR. RR had a good start winning first four games and now they have lost two in a row.
Riyan Parag said, “I was trying to lose the toss because I was very confused and i have managed that well. Batting second it has slowed down here. So we hope that happens again. [On the two losses] We have batted pretty well, we made a few miscalculations against KKR. A few errors here and there, hope we play good 40 overs. Same team.”
Also Read: IPL 2026 Mid-Season Report: Worst Performing Batter from Each Team So Far
