Top knocks from Abhishek Sharma and Rahul Tripathi followed by fiery cameos from Glenn Phillips and Abdul Samad helped Sunrisers Hyderabad clinch a four-wicket win in their IPL 2023 match against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Jaipur on Sunday.
With this win, SRH has rose to the ninth spot with four wins and six losses, with a total of eight points. RR is in the fourth spot with five wins, six losses and a total of 10 points. Abhishek Sharma gave a solid start with his 55 off 34 runs and the game-changing cameo of Glenn Phillips’s 25 off just 7 balls gave SRH their biggest win of the season so far.
Yuzvendra Chahal was the pick of the bowlers for RR, he took four wickets conceding 29 runs. Kuldip Yadav and R Ashwin took one scalp each.
Chasing the highest target in Jaipur, SRH openers Abhishek Sharma and Anmolpreet Singh started the innings steady as they brought their 50-run partnership in 34 balls. However, they lost their first wicket in the final over of powerplay. Chahal dismissed Anmolpreet at 33 off 25 balls. SRH was 51/1 in 5.5 overs.
After the end of the powerplay, SRH were at 52/1. Rahul Tripathi (1* off 1 balls) and Abhishek Sharma (18* off 10 balls) were unbeaten.
Abhishek then built 50 run partnership with Rahul Tripathi in 36 balls and they brought up the 100-run mark for SRH on the scoreboard in 11.3 overs.
Abhishek brought his fifty in 33 balls but was quickly dismissed by Ashwin in the 13th over. He scored 55 off 34 balls, consisting of five fours and two sixes. SRH was at 116/2 in 12.4 overs.
Heinrich Klaasen arrived at the crease and gave some hope to SRH fans with his clean and quick-hitting. However, he became Chahal’s second victim, scoring 26 off 12 balls. SRH was 157/3 in 15.5 overs.
In the 18th over, Chahal pushed SRH into the back seat as he picked two wickets. Rahul Tripathi was dismissed at 47 off 29 balls and Aiden Markram got out at 6 off 5 balls. SRH sunk to 174/5 in 17.5 overs and perhaps a lot was left for the remaining line-up to hit in the final overs. Chahal also got his four-wicket haul and became the joint-highest wicket-taker in the league’s history.
However, the match was turned full upside down in the penultimate over when Glenn Phillips hit three consecutive sixes and a four on Kuldip Yadav’s bowling. But the bowler did not let the Kiwi batter finish the match, dismissing him for 25 off seven balls. SRH was at 196/6 in 18.5 overs.
In the last over, SRH needed 17 runs. That oversaw a lot of drama, as RR had won the match after Abdul Samad was caught on the final ball. But after it was called a no-ball, SRH won the match, with Samad hitting a six on final ball.
Earlier, Choose to Bat, RR plans were clear as they started off with a boundary. Yashasvi Jaiswal was taking form from the previous match forward and was hitting boundaries in every over. Jos Buttler also joined him as they added a 50-run partnership off 26 balls.
Marco Jansen brought the wicket for SRH when he got the breakthrough of Yashasvi Jaiswal at short third man. Jaiswal scored 35 off 18 balls.
After the end of the powerplay, RR were 70/1, Sanju Samson 11* off 7 and Jos Buttler 18* off 17 balls.
RR’s batter attacked Mayank Markande in the 9th over, collecting 21 runs with three sixes.
Rajasthan reached the 100-run mark in just 9.4 overs. Buttler 37* off 26 balls and Samson 28 off 16 balls.
Buttler and Samson were not giving any chance to the bowlers, they achieved the 50 runs partnership off 29 balls.
Buttler who missed his mark in the previous match, bounced back as he smashed his half-century off 32 balls in 11.4 overs.
SRH bowlers were looking helpless as they had no answer for the explosive batting of Rajasthan. RR brought their 150-run mark in 14.2 overs.
Samson brought his fifty off 33 balls in the 18th over.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Marco Jansen were the only bowlers who got one breakthrough.
Like the first match of the day, Buttler also fell short of scoring his century. He was dismissed by Bhuvneshwar in 18.3 overs at 95 off 59 balls.
Rajasthan collected 17 runs in the last over, posting the highest target in Jaipur.
Yuzvendra Chahal was the pick of the bowlers for RR, he took four wickets conceding 29 runs. Kuldip Yadav, R Ashwin took one scalp each.
Brief scores Rajasthan Royals 214/2 (Jos Buttler 95, Sanju Samson 66, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 1/44) vs Sunrisers Hyderabad 217/6 (Abhishek Sharma 55, Rahul Tripathi 47, Yuzvendra Chahal 4/29)