Rajasthan Lions roar past Dubai Royals

Rajasthan Lions combined a crucial late batting surge with a disciplined bowling effort to defeat Dubai Royals by 16 runs in Match 6 of the World Legends Pro T20 League in Goa on Thursday.

Put into bat, the Lions were rocked early as Eoin Morgan and Callum Ferguson departed cheaply, leaving Rajasthan 23/2 inside four overs. A steady stand between Naman Ojha and Suresh Raina restored order. Ojha counter-attacked to reach a fluent half-century off around 30 balls, while Raina anchored the innings. At the halfway stage, Rajasthan were 79/2, setting up the innings without fully breaking free.

Raina briefly accelerated before falling for 30, triggering a middle-order slide. JP Duminy fell for a golden duck, handing Rishi Dhawan two wickets in two balls, and the Lions slipped to 95/4.

Dubai Royals then threatened to seize control through Piyush Chawla, who tore through the middle order with a stunning spell that included the first hat-trick of the World Legends Pro T20 League. Despite the damage, Rajasthan found late momentum through Jesal Karia (31 off 18) and Bipul Sharma (22 off 13), dragging the total to 170/9.

That late push proved decisive. Defending the target, Rajasthan Lions delivered a dominating and disciplined bowling performance, with Jesal Karia and Bipul Sharma pairing up to take five wickets between them, ensuring the Royals were never allowed to settle. Dubai Royals were eventually bowled out for 154 in 19.1 overs, falling 16 runs short.

Brief scores: Rajasthan Lions 170/9 in 20 overs (Naman Ojha 66, Jesal Karia 31; Piyush Chawla 3/29, Samit Patel 2/33) beat Dubai Royals 154 in 19.1 overs (Kirk Edwards 46, Samit Patel 30; Jesal Karia 3/21, Bipul Sharma 3/28).