Rajasthan Royals (RR) spinner R Ashwin was involved in a unique run-out situation during the Indian Premier League (IPL) clash against Lucknow Super Giants, which the former won by 24 runs. In a bid to finish the inning on a strong note, Ashwin tried sacrificing his wicket. However, the mix-up between him and Jimmy Neesham in the middle saw the Kiwi all-rounder return to the dugout.
The incident took place in the 18th over of the RR innings bowled by Ravi Bishnoi, as the duo tried to steal a quick single. However, with the ball travelling straight to KL Rahul it led to a mix-up as the Lucknow captain combined with the bowler to execute a sharp run-out.
Soon after the run-out, Ashwin started walking towards the dugout but he was stopped by the officials to check if Neesham had crossed the batter when the bails were removed.TV replay showed Neesham being slightly short from crossing Ashwin, following which the Indian was asked to join the proceedings in the middle and the Kiwi all-rounder had to walk back.
Watch: Umpire stops Ashwin’s sacrificing act, partner Jimmy Neesham runout
Neesham’s stay in the middle came to an end on 14(12), however, the dismissal didn’t hurt Rajasthan much.
After the dismissal, Ashwin along with Trent Boult added 26 runs in the remaining 2.2 overs as Rajasthan piled a stiff 178/6 after opting to bat first.
In response, Lucknow got off to a shaky start and lost Rahul, Quinton de Kock, and Ayush Badoni inside the powerplay overs.
De Kock was caught at point by an agile Jimmy Neesham, while Badoni was trapped in front of the wicket, after which the batter opted for a review to clear his doubts.
Deepak Hooda (59 off 39 balls) denied Boult a hat-trick — the ball headed towards the slip but after one bounce.In the next delivery though, Hooda got off the mark with a beautiful drive through covers.
Following the New Zealand pacer’s double blow, Prasidh Krishna (2/32) and Boult conceded only two runs in the next two overs, as RR kept things tight.
However, KL Rahul (10) struck Prasidh for a six to begin the final power play over but the bowler had the last laugh as he had the LSK skipper caught with his smart bowling.
LSG were in deep trouble at 29 for three in the sixth over when Krunal Pandya joined Hooda in the middle.T
he two quickly added 65 runs for the fourth wicket to keep their team in the game, before Ashwin removed Pandya at a crucial juncture, thanks to some excellent work by Jos Buttler and Riyan Parag in the deep.
Meanwhile, Hooda brought up his fifty but Yuzvendra Chahal had the charging batter stumped after Sanju Samson nearly made a hash of it.
Obed McCoy (2/35) then picked up the wickets of Jason Holder and Dushmantha Chameera to take RR closer to victory.
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