Hyderabad pulls off 1-run win over table-topper Rajasthan in IPL
HYDERABAD, India (AP) — Sunrisers Hyderabad pulled off a sensational one-run win off the final ball to upstage table-topper Rajasthan Royals and break into the top four of Indian Premier League on Thursday.
Needing two runs off Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s last ball, Rovman Powell (27) missed out a full toss and was out leg before wicket as Rajasthan finished on 200-7 for its only second defeat of the season in 10 games.
Earlier, Hyderabad recorded its fifth 200-plus score of the season as Nitish Kumar (76 not out) and Travis Head (58) scored half-centuries and Heinrich Klaasen scored a rapid 42 off 19 balls to lift the home team to 201-3.
The win propelled Hyderabad to No. 4 with 12 points on inferior net run-rate behind second-place Kolkata Knight Riders and Lucknow Super Giants.
Rajasthan was looking good when Riyan Parag (77) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (67) had combined in a blistering 134-run third-wicket stand off 78 balls despite Kumar dismissing Jos Buttler off his second ball and then clean bowling captain Sanju Samson off a vicious inswinger in his first over as both big guns fell without scoring.
Parag and Jaiswal had early reprieves when captain Pat Cummins couldn’t hold onto a hard drive of Jaiswal at mid-off when the left-hander was on 7 and then Abhishek Sharma floored an easy catch in the covers that could have ended Parag’s knock at 24 runs.
Hyderabad found the opening in the 14th over when Jaiswal went for an extravagant ramp shot against T Natarajan and had his stumped clattered. Parag, whose dominant half-century featured eight fours and four sixes, exited when he holed out in the deep off Cummins in the 16th over with Rajasthan still needing 43 runs for victory.
Powell brought down the target to 27 off the final three overs when he smacked two boundaries against wayward Marco Jansen, playing his first IPL game, as the South African left-armer conceded 15 runs to finish with 0-44.
Shimron Hetmyer then hoisted Natarajan for a 106-meter straight six before Hyderabad got a glimmer of hope when the West Indian missed out on a low full toss and was caught in the deep.
Cummins then had Dhruv Jurel (1) caught at deep square leg in the penultimate over which went for seven runs before Kumar conceded 11 off his first five balls but Powell missed out on a golden opportunity to seal the game off the final ball.
Hyderabad struggled in the power play to reach 37-2 as Avesh Khan (2-39) and Sandeep Sharma (1-31) both got wickets off their first balls.
Kumar and Head gave innings the momentum by dominating the spin of Yuzvendra Chahal as the leg-spinner registered his second most expensive figures of 0-62 in his 300th T20. Both Hyderabad batters shared a 96-run stand before Head was bowled by Avesh in his return spell after the Australian had smashed three sixes and six boundaries.
Klaasen and Kumar excelled in the final five overs which yielded 70 runs. Kumar’s 42-ball knock featured eight sixes and three fours while Klaasen smashed three sixes and three boundaries as Hyderabad spinners — Chahal and Ravichandran Ashwin (0-36) conceded 98 runs off their wicketless eight overs.
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