RR vs SRH Review – Hyderabad clinch a high-scoring thriller
Sunrisers Hyderabad snatched the victory from Rajasthan Royals and won the game by four wickets in a final-ball thriller. Notably, the two franchises crossed swords at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur in match 52 of the IPL 2023 on Sunday, May 7, and SRH pulled off a heist to mark a memorable victory.
SRH made a few changes to their line-up as Vivrant Sharma and Glenn Phillips joined the XI ahead of Mayank Agarwal and Harry Brook. Upon winning the toss, Sanju Samson decided to bat first. The opening pair of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler hit the ground running swiftly to get a decent head start.
Jaiswal scored a quickfire knock of 35 off 18 balls which included two sixes and five fours at an aggressive strike rate of 194.44. Following his dismissal, Buttler took the onus to get the big runs and notched up his fifty off 32 balls, and stitched a vital partnership with skipper Sanju Samson.
The two added 138 runs for the second wicket as Rajasthan were in a commanding position. Buttler concluded with 95 runs as he was sent packing by Bhuvneshwar Kumar whereas Samson got an unbeaten 38-ball 66 to propel Rajasthan to 214 in the first innings.
In reply, SRH were handed a solid start as Anmolpreet Singh (33 off 25) and Abhishek Sharma (55 off 34) got 51 runs for the first wicket before the former was sent packing. Rahul Tripathi tried hard to play a crucial knock as he got 47 off 29 but was dismissed by Yuzvendra Chahal to leave SRH reeling.
Phillips played a blazing knock, getting a seven-ball 25 but it was the final ball of the contest that garnered the maximum attention. Requiring five off the last ball, Sandeep Sharma dismissed Abdul Samad but it was called a no-ball as he overstepped. Having to bowl the last ball for the second time, Samad improvised and hammered a six to snatch the win from the jaws of defeat.
Top performers from the match
Jos Buttler:
Jos Buttler rediscovered his rhythm after enduring a lean patch in the previous games. His brilliant knock of 95 off 59 featured as many as four sixes and 10 boundaries at an impressive strike rate of 161.01. In addition to this, Buttler also combined to raise a 54-run stand with Yashasvi Jaiswal and followed it with a 138-run stand with Sanju Samson to help the side get to a mammoth total.
Abhishek Sharma
The SRH opener scored a vital knock at the top order as he got 55 runs off 34 balls which included two sixes and five boundaries. Abhishek carved out the knock when the side required a solid start and he delivered the goods to put Hyderabad in a steady position in the chase.
What’s next for both teams?
Rajasthan will meet Kolkata Knight Riders on Thursday, May 11 whereas SRH will square off against Lucknow Super Giants on Saturday, May 13 at home in Hyderabad.
