Sunrisers Hyderabad edged past Rajasthan Royals in a pulsating IPL 2024 contest on Thursday night for their sixth win of the season. Chasing 202, RR allowed the game to slip away in the slog overs despite being in a strong position with SRH sneaking away with a one-run win to move to fourth spot in the standings.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar (3/41) played the starring role with the ball for SRH as he took two wickets in the very first over of RR’s chase before successfully defending 13 runs in the final over.
Bhuvneshwar got the new ball to swing and got rid of Jos Buttler (0) and Sanju Samson (0) in the space of four deliveries to land early blows. However, the young duo of Riyan Parag and Yashasvi Jaiswal led a strong recovery with the pair stitching a magnificent 133-run stand for the third wicket to put RR in control.
Jaiswal scored 67 off 40 while Parag made 77 off 49.
RR needed 45 runs in 30 deliveries with seven wickets in hand. SRH captain then triggered the turnaround with an excellent 16th over in which he removed a well-set Parag back and allowed just three runs.
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New man Rovman Powell then struck two fours in a wayward over of Marco Jansen to ease nerves in RR camp but the visitors lost a wicket each in the next two overs while managing a combined 14 runs.
Powell scooped the third delivery of the final over, bowled by Bhuvneshwar for a four to leave RR needing five runs from three deliveries. With four runs off the next two, RR were left with two runs to win but Bhuvneshwar trapped Powell LBW of the final delivery to seal nerve-shredding win.
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Earlier, Nitish Reddy and Travis Head produced explosive fifties to power Sunrisers Hyderabad to a competitive 201/3.
Opting to bat, SRH opener Head made full use of an early reprieve by slamming his fourth fifty of the season with a 44-ball 58, while Nitish (76 not out in 42 balls) hit his second half-century en route to a 96-run stand off 57 balls for the third wicket.
Nitish and Heinrich Klassen (42 not out off 19) added another 70 off 32 balls to take SRH across the 200-mark for the fifth time this season.
Head, who was dropped by Riyan Parag in the first ball of the innings, hit six fours and three sixes, while Nitish smashed eight maximums and three fours during his brutal assault.
Playing his 300th game, Yuzvendra Chahal, who has been picked for the T20 World Cup, was on the firing line as he was taken apart by the two batters, conceding 62 in his quota of four overs.
Avesh Khan (2/39) produced the first breakthrough, having Abhishek Sharma (12) caught at deep midwicket. Sandeep Sharma (1/31) then claimed a first-ball wicket, removing Anmolpreet Singh (5) as SRH scored 37 for 2 in the powerplay, their lowest this IPL.
The spin duo of Chahal and R Ashwin (0/36), however, disappointed as the batters milked them for runs to set SRH on the road to recovery.
Chahal had a horrible night as Head smashed him for two sixes and a four during an 18-run over after he came on to bowl immediately following the powerplay.
The leg-spinner was then taken apart by Nitish Reddy, who plundered him for two sixes and two fours to accumulate 21 runs as SRH reached 113 for 2 in 13 overs.
Nitish, who also clobbered Ashwin and Avesh for two maximums, then sent Sandeep sailing over extra cover, while Head pulled Avesh for another six in the 15th over.
The Australia, however, played the pacer onto his middle stump as SRH slipped to 131/3.
Nitish then completed his fifty in 30 balls with a single and straightaway launched Ashwin for successive maximums.
New man Klassen then joined the party, sending Chahal into the orbit with back-to-back sixes. When Boult was back, Klassen picked him for two fours, while blasting another six off Sandeep.
With PTI Inputs
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