With the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) losing against the Delhi Capitals on Tuesday, the Rajasthan Royals have officially qualified for the IPL 2024 playoffs. The Royals are currently on 16 points from 12 matches with eight wins and have joined the Kolkata Knight Riders in the playoffs.
The Royals were on track to become the first team to qualify for the playoffs, but have suffered three consecutive defeats. They lost two close matches to the Sunrisers Hyderabad and Delhi Capitals, followed by a heavy defeat against the Chennai Super Kings. Their final two matches are against the Punjab Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders.
The Kolkata Knight Riders, meanwhile, are assured of a top two finish and are sitting pretty at the top with nine wins in 13 matches. The two-time champions are arguably the most in-form side at the moment, but are slightly unsettled at the top of the order with the departure of Phil Salt.
Spirited LSG fall short by 19 runs in steep chase:
The Super Giants were left to chase 209 after Abhishek Porel, Shai Hope, Rishabh Pant, and Tristan Stubbs headlined an excellent batting effort at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
In response, LSG were struggling at 71-5 at one stage, with only two batters out of the top six reaching double figures. The unlikely resistance came from Arshad Khan, who blasted a half-century off only 25 balls and ultimately remained unbeaten on 58 off 33 deliveries with three fours and five sixes.
However, the Capitals were too strong as Ishant Sharma recorded outstanding figures of 4-0-34-3. Axar Patel, Mukesh Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Khaleel Ahmed, and Tristan Stubbs took one wicket apiece. Nevertheless, reaching the playoffs for the third consecutive time remains a distant dream for LSG.
Despite the win, Delhi need several other results to go their way to sneak into the top 4.
