Lucknow Super Giants v Rajasthan Royals

Lucknow Super Giants needed 38 runs from the final four overs with six wickets in hand, yet somehow managed to lose by 12 runs. That collapse, 38 for 4 in the closing stretch, turned what looked like a comfortable chase into Rajasthan's third straight win at Ekana. The surface never played easy. Yashasvi Jaiswal's 74 from 52 balls provided Rajasthan's foundation, but 168 felt gettable when Rishabh Pant (52 from 38) and Nicholas Pooran (44 from 28) were taking LSG to 118 for 4 in the 16th over. Then Jofra Archer returned and bowled Pooran with a yorker that dipped late. Maheesh Theekshana strangled the tail with subtle variations that LSG's lower order couldn't read. Ravi Bishnoi had earlier kept LSG in the contest by removing both Sanju Samson and Riyan Parag during a middle-overs squeeze, finishing with 2 for 31. But Jaiswal's early acceleration, particularly 27 runs between overs eight and ten, gave Rajasthan enough cushion to defend once Archer and Theekshana found their lines. The gap between the top four and the rest is LSG's structural problem. Watch whether they shuffle Aiden Markram up the order next match, because 28 from 23 at number five wastes his primary skill.