Deepak hoods

Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari: KL Rahul played a captain's knock and shared a 115-run partnership with Deepak Hooda, who too scored a fine half-century, as Lucknow Super Giants posted a par-score of 196/5 in 20 overs against table-toppers Rajasthan Royals in Match 44 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 here on Saturday.

Rahul blasted a 48-ball 76, reaching a cautious half-century off 31 balls, while Hooda scored a 31-ball 50 as LSG recovered from a precarious 11/2 in the second over to post a good score at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow.

Asked to bat first, LSG got off to a poor start as Quinton de Kock, after hitting back-to-back boundaries to Trent Boult in the first over, was cleaned up on the third ball by the left-handed New Zealand pacer with one that nipped back a bit and went past the opener's bat, which came down late, to crash into the stumps.