SRH Pull Off A Jail-Break As They Down RR By 4 Wickets In A Last Ball Thriller
Abdul Samad finished it off in style (Image- AP Newsroom)
SunRisers Hyderabad: 217/6 in 20 overs [Abhishek Sharma 55 (34), Rahul Tripathi 47 (29)]; Yuzvendra Chahal 4/29 (4), R Ashwin 1/35 (4)] beat Rajasthan Royals: 214/2 in 20 overs [Jos Buttler 95 (59), Sanju Samson 66* (38); Marco Jansen 1/44 (4), Bhuvneshwar Kumar 1/44 (4)] by 4 wickets.
Anything and everything is possible in this mad world of Indian Premier League, and Sunday night was once again an apt reminder as SunRisers Hyderabad snatched a win over home team, Rajasthan Royals amid the craziest circumstances one can imagine.
Needing 5 off the final delivery, Abdul Samad had no choice but to go for it. And he did. But it wasn't good enough as he holed out wide long-off.
The Royals were ecstatic; SRH players shattered. Until, the dreaded alarm a few seconds later, flipped the fortunes of both teams completely.Sandeep Sharma had overstepped, and so the dismissal didn't count. Neither did the delivery. What's more, it was a free-hit. But Samad still had to hit it. And, this time, he well and truly nailed the lofted drive for a six, leading to jubilant scenes in the SRH camp.
Earlier, SRH rode on brilliant knocks from Anmolpreet Singh (33 off 25), Abhishek Sharma (55 off 34), Rahul Tripathi (47 off 29) to keep themselves in contention in such a massive run-chase.
Sharma, as usual, was elite against spin, while Tripathi was at this evocative best. But, as has been the case with the SunRisers this season, their batters kept getting out against the run-of-play.
Heinrich Klaasen smashed 26 off 12 deliveries but fell to Yuzvendra Chahal (4/29 in 4) in an attempt to deposit the spinner for another six. Chahal followed it up with the dismissal of Markram, whose woeful form peaked on Sunday night.
In came Glenn Phillips for the first time this season, with SRH still needing 34 off the last 12 deliveries.
Phillips teed into Kuldip Yadav, smashing him for 3 consecutive sixes and a four to bring his side back in the game, but SRH still needed 17 off 7 when he holed out to Shimron Hetmyer.
Samad eventually turned up on the night as he reduced the equation to 6 off 3 by smashing a six over long-on at the start of the over, and then fate took over.
Buttler and Samson powered RR to an imperious 214/2
Jos Buttler and Sanju Samson [Image- IPLT20]
Earlier, Rajasthan Royals rode on yet another powerplay flourish from Yashasvi Jaiswal and a whirlwind 138-run-stand between Jos Buttler and skipper Sanju Samson to post the highest IPL total at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium in Jaipur- 214/2.
Once again, it was Yashasvi, who started the onslaught with his high-intent-laden majestic strokeplay in the powerplay, allowing a struggling Buttler a breathing space at the other end.
Jaiswal smashed 5 fours and 2 sixes to race his way to an 18-ball 35, before he threw it away by dabbing a harmless delivery from Marco Jansen straight to short third-man.
But, the platform had been laid, and from there-on, Buttler, who was 20 off 20 at the time, hit top-gear as he smashed his next 75 runs in just 39 deliveries, with Mayank Markande (0/51 in 4) suffering the most.Buttler got brilliant support from Samson, who was at his sublime best on Sunday night. The enigmatic Kerala batter hammered 5 sixes and 4 fours in his unbeaten 38-ball 66*.
Buttler, however, missed out on a well-deserved ton as he was trapped lbw by Bhuvneshwar Kumar for a 59-ball 95 in the 19th over.
Sanju ensured that RR were able to rack up the highest-ever IPL total at the venue, but, as fate would have it, it didn't prove to be enough.
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 "Yash Mittal")
