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The Rajasthan Royals vs Lucknow Super Giants timeline starts in 2022, but it grew up fast. It was April 10, 2022, Wankhede Stadium. Two teams that barely knew each other squared off in what should have been a routine early-season fixture. Shimron Hetmyer was batting like the match owed him money. Yuzvendra Chahal was spinning the ball sideways. LSG needed 3 runs off the last over, and somehow, improbably, didn’t get there. RR won by 3 runs. Nobody knew it then, but that game set the template for everything that followed: chaos, brilliance, and a scoreline so tight you’d need a magnifying glass to separate the two teams. That’s the Rajasthan Royals vs Lucknow Super Giants timeline in a sentence. It’s short. It’s loud. And it refuses to be boring.
Introduction: The rise of a modern IPL rivalry
LSG entered the IPL in 2022 as one of two new franchises, alongside Gujarat Titans. They came in with money, ambition, and KL Rahul. RR came in with history, a 2008 title, and a reputation for finding gems nobody else wanted.
Four seasons later, they’ve played 8 times. RR leads 6-2. But that scoreline doesn’t tell you about the 2-run thriller in 2025, or the 3-run opener in 2022, or the night in 2024 when Sanju Samson decided physics didn’t apply to him.
This is a rivalry that punches well above its age.
Rajasthan Royals vs Lucknow Super Giants Timeline Head-to-Head Record
| Stats | Rajasthan Royals (RR) | Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) |
|---|---|---|
| Total Matches Played | 7 | 7 |
| Matches Won | 5 | 2 |
| Highest Score | 199 | 196 |
| Lowest Score | 144 | 154 |
| Biggest Win Margin | 20 Runs | 10 Runs |
| Wins Batting First | 3 | 1 |
| Wins Chasing | 2 | 1 |
| Most Runs | Sanju Samson | KL Rahul |
| Most Wickets | Yuzvendra Chahal | Ravi Bishnoi |
How Rajasthan Royals dominated the early battles
RR’s first 4 matches against LSG all ended in RR wins. Back-to-back wins in IPL 2022, then two more in 2023 and 2024. Chahal was the architect early. Trent Boult made KL Rahul’s life miserable. Shimron Hetmyer kept finishing games.
It wasn’t just winning. It was the manner of it. RR’s bowling unit felt tailor-made for LSG’s lineup. LSG like building platforms and accelerating late. Chahal and Boult don’t let you build platforms.
When Lucknow Super Giants changed the rivalry
LSG’s first win came in IPL 2023. It took them 3 tries and a 10-run win that felt like exhaling after holding your breath for two seasons.
Then 2025 happened. Avesh Khan, 9 to win off the last over, RR needing a single boundary. Khan bowled 6 deliveries of pure controlled aggression and gave away just 6 runs. LSG won by 2. That’s when the rivalry stopped being lopsided and started being genuinely, nervously competitive.
A Series of Rajasthan Royals vs Lucknow Super Giants timeline
2022: The rivalry begins
Match 1 — April 10, Wankhede Stadium: RR won by 3 runs
RR posted 165/6. Hetmyer’s 59* off 36 anchored it. LSG chased hard — Quinton de Kock hit 39, Marcus Stoinis smashed 38* off 17 — but Chahal’s 4/41 kept strangling the innings. LSG finished 162/8. 3 runs short.
Match 2 — IPL 2022 (reverse fixture): RR won
The second meeting confirmed the pattern. RR’s batting unit built a bigger total, LSG couldn’t keep pace, and RR finished the 2022 season 2-0 against their new rivals.
2023: LSG strikes back
Match 3 — April 2023, Jaipur: LSG won by 10 runs
LSG finally got their win, and it came at RR’s home ground. A disciplined bowling effort held RR’s dangerous lineup to 10 runs short. KL Rahul marshalled the chase. Avesh Khan took the key wickets. It ended 2-1 in the overall head-to-head, and suddenly LSG looked like they’d figured RR out.
2024: RR’s tactical dominance
Match 4 — Jaipur, 2024: RR won by 20 runs
Samson scored an unbeaten 82 off 52 balls — the highest individual score in this rivalry. He hit 3 fours and 6 sixes and made it look routine. RR won by 20 and went into the away fixture full of confidence.
Match 5 — Ekana Stadium, Lucknow, 2024: RR won by 7 wickets
RR’s highest total in this rivalry: 199/3. LSG had scored 196, which felt competitive. Samson walked in and hit an unbeaten 71 off 33 balls. He and Dhruv Jurel put on an unbroken 121-run stand and won with an over to spare. It was ruthless.
2025: The 2-run heartbreak
Match 6 — April 19, 2025, Jaipur: LSG won by 2 runs
This one still stings if you’re an RR fan.
LSG posted 180/5, with Aiden Markram hitting 66 off 45 and Ayush Badoni making a well-crafted 50. RR’s chase started with an extraordinary moment — 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi hit the first ball of his IPL career for six. He and Jaiswal put on 85 off 52 balls in the powerplay alone.
At 156/2 after 17 overs, RR needed 25 off 18 deliveries. With Jaiswal and Riyan Parag set. It was over.
Then Avesh Khan happened. He bowled Jaiswal. Bowled Parag. Prince Yadav nailed a nerveless 19th over. 9 needed off the last. Khan gave away 6. RR fell 2 short. The home crowd sat in silence as LSG celebrated what Rishabh Pant called “a win that builds character.”
RR’s total: 178/5. LSG: 180/5. A 2-run gap that felt like a canyon.
2026: Latest match recap
Match 7 — April 22, 2026, Ekana Stadium, Lucknow: RR won by 40 runs
RR came into this one having lost 2 straight. They needed a win. Jadeja gave them one.
RR posted 159/6, a tricky total rather than a dominant one. Jadeja top-scored with an unbeaten 43 off 29 — his 49-run stand with Shubham Dubey in the final overs proved decisive. Then Jofra Archer tore through LSG’s top order: 3/20. Pant, Markram, and Pooran all fell cheaply. Mitchell Marsh made 55 and briefly threatened, but Nandre Burger dismissed him just as the game shifted. LSG folded for 119 in 18 overs. RR won by 40 — their second-largest margin in the rivalry.
Match 8 — May 19, 2026, Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur: Tonight (scheduled)
Tonight’s game is high-stakes for RR. They’re 6th with 12 points after 3 consecutive defeats and have dropped all 3 home games at Sawai Mansingh this season. LSG are already out of playoffs, sitting 10th. But knockout cricket doesn’t wait for form tables, and RR know better than anyone that LSG can win when nobody expects them to.
Greatest individual performances in RR vs LSG matches
Yuzvendra Chahal — 4/41 (2022, Wankhede) The match that started the rivalry. Chahal’s leg-spin strangled a chase that looked completely under control. Still the best bowling figures in this fixture.
Sanju Samson — 82 (2024, Jaipur)* The highest individual score in the rivalry. He came in mid-chase and made a 20-run win look like a training session.
Sanju Samson — 71 off 33 (2024, Lucknow)* Same batter, even crazier tempo. He and Jurel chased down 196 with an over to spare. Two Samson tons in one season against the same opposition.
Aiden Markram — 66 off 45 (2025) The anchor behind LSG’s only last-ball win. He batted through the middle overs when RR were taking wickets around him and set up the target that proved just enough.
Avesh Khan — 3/37 (2025) The ball that defined the rivalry. He defended 9 off the final over when everyone in Jaipur had mentally given up. Match-winner from the last imaginable moment.
Ravindra Jadeja — 43 off 29 + 1/29 (2026, Lucknow)* Not the flashiest knock in the rivalry. But RR were struggling at 110 when Jadeja walked in. He lifted them to 159 and then bowled tidy overs. All-round excellence when the team needed it most.
Most dramatic finishes in the rivalry
1. 2025 — LSG win by 2 runs (Jaipur) The standard by which all IPL drama is now measured. RR needed 25 off 18 with 8 wickets standing. They got 22. One of the most shocking reversals in IPL history involving these two sides.
2. 2022 — RR win by 3 runs (Wankhede) Stoinis on 38*, needing 3 off however many balls, and Chahal finding a way through. The rivalry’s founding document.
3. 2024 — RR chase 197 in Lucknow with an over to spare Technically not close, but the scale of the chase — and Samson’s 33-ball 71 — made it feel like a different kind of drama.
RR vs LSG statistical comparison
Batting stats
| Stat | RR | LSG |
|---|---|---|
| Highest team total | 199/3 (2024, Lucknow) | 196 (2024, Lucknow) |
| Highest individual score | Samson 82* (2024, Jaipur) | Markram 66 (2025, Jaipur) |
| Best batting average in rivalry | Samson (66.67) | Pooran (52.00) |
RR’s batting has been more decisive. They post bigger totals and have more match-winning individual innings. Samson alone accounts for 3 of the top 5 knocks in this fixture.
Bowling stats
| Stat | RR | LSG |
|---|---|---|
| Leading wicket-taker | Trent Boult (8) | Avesh Khan (6) |
| Best figures | Chahal 4/41 (2022) | Avesh Khan 3/25 |
| Economy rate (rivalry avg) | ~7.00 | ~7.50 |
Boult’s record against KL Rahul — dismissed him twice in 49 balls — was a microcosm of RR’s bowling intelligence. Chahal’s early dominance set the tone for years. Avesh Khan is LSG’s most dangerous weapon in this fixture, specifically in death overs.
Win percentages
| Total matches | RR wins | LSG wins |
|---|---|---|
| 7 (before tonight) | 5 (71%) | 2 (29%) |
RR hold a clear edge. But both LSG wins came in dramatic fashion — and those 2 wins do enormous amounts of psychological damage.
Players who changed the rivalry
Sanju Samson
The most impactful batter on either side by distance. His 82* in Jaipur and 71* in Lucknow in 2024 alone account for 2 of the 3 most decisive performances in the entire head-to-head. Samson plays LSG like he has a personal grudge. His average of 66.67 against them is the highest of any batter across both squads. When he’s in, RR don’t lose.
Nicholas Pooran
The big promise that hasn’t quite paid off in this rivalry. Averages 52 against RR but his strike rate and execution in high-pressure moments have been uneven. His failure with the bat in the April 2026 fixture — dismissed cheaply when LSG needed him most — summed up LSG’s middle-order fragility. The talent is obvious. The consistency in this specific fixture isn’t quite there yet.
Yuzvendra Chahal
Owned the early years. His 4-wicket haul in the very first meeting set a tone, and he finished with 6 wickets in the rivalry before leaving RR. Leg-spin against LSG’s batting lineup — which relies on power and pace rather than spin manipulation — worked beautifully. His bowling average in the fixture is among the lowest of any RR bowler.
Trent Boult
The highest wicket-taker in the rivalry with 8, though many of these came across 2022 and 2023. Boult’s swing in the powerplay repeatedly caught LSG’s openers off-guard, including KL Rahul, who he dismissed twice in the same number of balls. LSG never fully solved him. His exit from the IPL left a gap that RR’s newer pace lineup has worked to fill.
Jofra Archer
The new destroyer. In IPL 2026, Archer took 3/20 in Lucknow and went past Chahal as RR’s all-time leading wicket-taker in that same match. His pace, bounce, and yorker at the death make him uniquely difficult for LSG’s middle order, which already struggles against right-arm pace targeting the stumps. If tonight’s fixture matters, Archer will matter more.
Future of Rajasthan Royals vs Lucknow Super Giants Timeline rivalry
Tonight’s match in Jaipur is the 8th chapter. And both teams come in with something to prove — RR for playoff survival, LSG to avoid finishing last.
Going forward, a few things will define how this rivalry evolves.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi. He’s 15 and already has a six off his first IPL delivery. He scored 34 off 20 in that 2025 heartbreaker. As he grows into a complete T20 batter, RR’s top order could become even more explosive. LSG will need a proper plan for him.
LSG’s franchise direction. They’ve had KL Rahul, then Rishabh Pant as captain. Their squad is strong on paper but has underperformed in 2026. How they restructure will determine whether the 71-29 win percentage starts to move.
Archer vs LSG. He’s already RR’s all-time leading wicket-taker. If he stays fit and motivated, LSG’s middle order — particularly Pooran, who struggles against express pace — will keep facing problems in this fixture.
The Rajasthan Royals vs Lucknow Super Giants timeline may only be 4 seasons old. But it has already given us a founding 3-run thriller, back-to-back 2024 Samson masterclasses, and a 2025 last-over robbery that people in Jaipur are still talking about. Tonight adds another entry. And if history is any guide, it won’t be quiet.
