Rivalry Renewed: RR takes on SRH in a high-stakes showdown!

 Rajasthan Royals thought they had won over Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Sunday when Sandeep Sharma had Abdul Samad holing out to long-off on the last ball of the chase, with the crowd cheering in happiness. But immediately, the red siren rang, as replays showed Sandeep overstepping, giving Samad a life and Hyderabad, another attempt at winning the game. On the free hit delivery, Samad stayed deep in the crease to launch a six over the bowler’s head to complete a successful chase of 215, the highest-ever chase by the franchise and at the venue.

Playing XI for both sides:

Sunrisers Hyderabad (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram(c), Heinrich Klaasen(w), Glenn Phillips, Abdul Samad, Marco Jansen, Vivrant Sharma, Mayank Markande, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T Natarajan

Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson(w/c), Joe Root, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Ravichandran Ashwin, Murugan Ashwin, Sandeep Sharma, Kuldip Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal

Powerplay 61-1 (6 overs)

As expected Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal clubbed the SRH bowlers to start with in the powerplay, with the latter taking the attack to the opposition, sparing absolutely no one. However, Jaiswal fell to Jansen against the run of play, which brought about a period of a brief lull as Samson took his time to settle in and Buttler, looking to regain his form, went at his own pace while minimising risks. They ended the PP with a run-rate of over ten.

Middle overs: RR 154-1 (15 overs)

After a sedate start from Buttler, Samson and the Englishman took off, hammering 93 runs off the “middle overs”, sparing no one in this window and unleashing carnage. Jos Buttler was definitely back at his imperious best, flaying the bowlers indiscriminately to all parts with the atypical bottom-hand flourish. Samson spared no one either, and matched Buttler stroke for stroke, only that he got less of the strike.

Death overs: RR 214-2 (20 overs)

60 runs came off the final five and it would have been more, had Buttler not been pinned by a Bhuvneshwar yorker (or had DRS not existed). He fell 5 short of his hundred, but it was a welcome return to form for Buttler, and a huge relief for the Royals at a crucial stage of the tournament. Two first innings today saw 441 runs being scored for the loss of a total of 4 wickets — and no hundreds. Gill was unbeaten on 94, whereas Buttler was dismissed for 95. What’s more, debutant Joe Root was denied a swing in his first IPL game!

Powerplay: SRH 52-1 (6 overs)

SRH started like they weren’t chasing 215. They were calm and sedate at the start, and eventually started to selectively punish the bad balls, ending up with 52-1 at the end of the powerplay. They had lost Anmol Preet, but the composure shown had certainly sent across the message that SRH were not panicking. Or perhaps it was the manifestation of having nothing to lose. Either way, SRH started the chase ideally, as if waiting and believing that the big over will come.

Middle overs 146-2 (15 overs)

Another phase where SRH continued to be sedate, and calmly dispatched every boundary ball they could find. They had scored 94 runs in the nine overs in the window, and the calmness certainly showed, despite the dismissal of Abhishek Sharma — every poor ball in this crucial stand – 41 off 19 – between Klaasen and Tripathi, was dismissed, leaving SRH in the hunt.

Death overs 217-6 (20 overs)

The rollercoaster finish – Glenn Phillips — what was he doing in the sidelines? With 41 off 12 required, he brought it down to 19 off 7 with 6.6.6.4 and out. A lusty blow from Samad kept it alive in the final over, but with 5 needed off 1, he could only hand a catch to mid-off. All over? Not quite. The siren of death wailed in Jaipur, and Sandeep Sharma rebowled the last ball only to be clubbed for six over his head, sealing victory Lagaan style.