With outstanding death bowling, Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated the table-topping Rajasthan Royals to propel themselves into the top four. In the 200-v-200 match, RR needed to score two runs off the final ball and thirteen off the final over, but Bhuvneshwar Kumar caught Rovman Powell leg before to give the home team the two points.
Where was the victory in the game?
After a sluggish start, SRH did well to build on the comeback they accomplished in the middle overs. Conversely, RR led the game for the first two stages before losing ground in the final stages.
| Parameters | SRH | RR |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 70/0 | 43/4 |
| Run-rate | 14 | 8.6 |
| 4s/6s | 4/6 | 3/2 |
Hyderabad’s Sunrisers
PowerPlay: This season’s worst for SRH
37/2 for the phase [4s/6s: 4/1, RR: 6.16]
When Head hit a wild slash with the first ball, Riyan Parag at backward point failed to shield his hands, giving Trent Boult another opportunity to take a wicket in the first over. However, RR held down SRH to a poor start as they once again aced the PowerPlays with the ball. In an attempt to alter the course of the start, Abhishek Sharma was tackled by Avesh Khan and pulled to Dhruv Jurel at deep square leg. Then, after Sandeep Sharma flicked one to Jaiswal at midwicket, Anmolpreet Singh delivered him a wicket with his first ball.
Middle Overs: Head and Nitish reverse the situation
Score for phase: 94/1 [RR: 10.44, 5/8 for 4s/6s]
Head and Nitish scuppered any hopes that RR’s spinners would be able to tighten the screws during middle overs. Head faced Chahal and hit two sixes and a four in the ninth over to start SRH’s comeback. After striking a six off Ashwin and an extra four off Avesh, Nitish took over and punished Chahal with two sixes and two fours, one over the cover point and the other on each side of the straight boundary. Avesh returned with aplomb, dismissing Head for a 44-ball 58, but SRH significantly increased their scoring pace.
Death Overs: Klaasen and Nitish put on a slick finish
Score for phase: 70/0 [RR: 15:00, 4/6s: 4/6]
Nitish blasted back-to-back sixes against Ashwin after finishing with a fifty off thirty balls. In the final overs, Sanju Samson was forced to bowl Yuzvendra Chahal, who struggled to match up with Heinrich Klaasen. In the 17th over, with 16 runs, the South African took full advantage, hitting the leggie for two sixes. Nitish pursued Avesh and equalized Klaasen shot for shot until the latter took runs off Boult. After scoring just 16 runs in his opening three overs, Sandeep gave up 15 runs in the 20th over, and Klaasen finished with an undefeated 42 off 19. Nitish, a 20-year-old batsman for SRH, scored an unbeaten 76 off of 42 balls to help the team surpass 200 runs.
Royals of Rajasthan
PowerPlay: Leading by two, but still far ahead
Phase rating: 60/2 [RR: 10.00, 9/2 for 4s/6s]
On the second delivery of the chase, Bhuvneshwar Kumar had Jos Buttler caught at first slip. On the first ball he faced, he bowled a vicious inswinger that disturbed Sanju Samson’s stumps. With two fours and a six off Bhuvneshwar by Riyan Parag, RR were soon back on their feet. Nine boundaries were struck in the phase to keep RR up with the asking pace, so both he and Jaiswal were quickly sent on. Pat Cummins was welcomed with an over of fifteen runs, but Marco Jansen had a difficult comeback to the side.
Middle Overs: Jaiswal and Parag maintain RR’s lead
Score for phase: 97/1 [RR: 10.78, 7/4, 4s/6s]
Runs came rather quickly as they tried to match the asking pace, with Jaiswal and Parag continuing to score freely through the middle. The RR hitters began to enjoy Jansen’s left-arm pace, but his forgettable comeback spanned all three stages. At the halfway point, the third-wicket combination had forced RR to 100, and Cummins was also badly beaten. T Natarajan hammered his yorkers in the middle, but RR struck once again as the pair took 14 off Cummins’ third over, after the bowler had gone to Bhuvneshwar to further restrict the scoring. off Jaiswal reached his fifty off 30 balls and Parag reached his off 31, the pair appeared to be making a difficult chase very easy. Shimron Hetmyer joined in the action to leave RR needing to chase just 45 off the final five overs, so even after Jaiswal was removed from the game, the scoring flowed smoothly.
Death Overs: Three-over pull-back and wickets
Score for the phase: 43/4 [RR: 8.60, 3/2 for 4s/6s]
When Parag attempted to hit a big hit, Cummins clipped his wings with a full ball that the hitter was unable to get under, starting the turnaround for SRH. In addition to taking a wicket, the over reduced RR’s score by just three runs, adding to the strain. After conceding fifteen runs and failing miserably to bowl his wide yorkers, Jansen’s fourth over was a release over. Hetmyer left RR to chase 19 off 12, as he went out on a high note after hitting a six and falling in Natarajan’s over in the 18th. After that, Cummins bowled what was possibly the greatest over of the match, using a combination of yorkers that were well-directed and slow bouncers into the wicket to first remove Dhruv Jurel and then give up only one run in five deliveries. Even when Rovman Powell hit a six to slightly tarnish it, RR still required 13 runs off Bhuvneshwar’s final over. Ashwin and Rovman both made fast doubles to extend the game to the final ball, but the West Indian captain, frightened by his own low blow on the previous delivery, was unable to get his team over the finish line.
Brief Scores: Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Rajasthan Royals 200/7 in 20 overs (Riyan Parag 77, Yashasvi Jaiswal 67, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 3-41) by 1 run, scoring 201/3 in 20 overs (Nitish Reddy 76*, Travis Head 58; Avesh Khan 2-39).
What are the teams’ next moves?
On Tuesday, May 7, RR travel to Delhi to play DC. Three days will pass until SRH and MI play at Wankhede Stadium.
