52nd Match, IPL: Sunrisers Hyderabad 217 for 6 (Abhishek 55, Tripathi 47, Chahal 4-29) beat Rajasthan Royals 214 for 2 (Buttler 95, Samson 66) by four wickets

Abdul Samad smoked a straight six off the free hit to give Sunrisers Hyderabad the four more runs they needed, sparking wild celebrations in the orange camp while the players and home fans in pink were left stunned. Just as Rajasthan Royals thought they had collected two points by defending 214 and had started to celebrate, their last-ball wicket turned into a no-ball from Sandeep Sharma, which was called late by the third umpire.

Royals were well in front of Sunrisers nearly all through the pursuit, with the asking rate increasing and wickets falling routinely towards the end. Sunrisers, notwithstanding, continued to retaliate with successes. The biggest twist came when they required 41 from 12 and Glenn Phillips, in for Harry Stream, impacted three sixes and a four to decrease it to 19 off eight. When he fell on the next ball, the chase turned around again, and with Samad on strike, they needed 17 runs to win the last over.

Samad was almost caught twice in two balls: first, he was dropped by Obed McCoy at short third, which resulted in two runs, and then he hit a six that just missed Joe Root’s hands at long-on. Sandeep’s close yorkers surrendered only four off the following three and with five to win off the keep going ball, Samad  found long- on while endeavoring another straight six, and Sandeep lifted his finger in celebration. Yet, those grins before long vanished on the grounds that Sandeep had violated and when he re-bowled the last ball – one more endeavored yorker, the length off by a couple inches – Samad finished Sunrisers’ heist with a fruitful straight six directly over the bowler’s head.

Both Sanju Samson’s unbeaten 66 off 38 and Jos Buttler’s scintillating return to form will be remembered for the Royals’ two missed catches and run-out opportunity. In spite of their third misfortune in succession and fifth misfortune in six games, Royals are still in fourth position on the table, yet RCB, Mumbai Indians and Punjab Rulers are level with them on 10 points and all have a game close by. Delhi Capitals were relegated to last place after Sunrisers pushed them back up.

Brisk but not the quickest start for Sunrisers Hyderabad

With quick knocks from their top three, Sunrisers were off to a fast start after dropping Mayank Agarwal and Brook. Anmolpreet Singh opened with the in-structure Abhishek Sharma and began tracking down the limits, particularly against the accomplished Sandeep and R Ashwin. Abhishek also got in on the action, and with three fours off Sandeep in the fifth over, Sunrisers looked like they would have a strong powerplay finish. However, Yuzvendra Chahal got Anmolpreet caught off a sweep for 33, and the visitors ended the powerplay at 52 for 1.

SRH (seemingly) leave too much too late

The asking rate increased to over 12 shortly after the powerplay ended, but Rahul Tripathi and Abhishek started with big hits only when they needed 142 from 11 overs. Tripathi started with a six from M Ashwin, and Abhishek followed with sixes from both Ashwins before edging to short third for a big shot and scoring 55.

Carefully, he's a HERO 💪 pic.twitter.com/nppc8eOwgb

— SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) May 7, 2023

With the promotion of Heinrich Klaasen to No. 4 and the equation at 98 off 42, Samson gave M Ashwin a third over despite his first two balls going for 23 and despite having other bowling options nearby, leaking 19 more runs to keep Sunrisers in the game.

Another quick start from Yashasvi Jaiswal

Royals saw Yashasvi Jaiswal continue his imperious form with a combination of intent and luck after choosing to bat. He scored four on the first ball by hitting it just over mid-on. On the fourth ball, he almost got caught at fine leg, but debutant Vivrant Sharma missed the catch and gave up four more. Jaiswal struck Marco Jansen and Bhuvneshwar Kumar for sixes and fours in the fifth over while Buttler was still trying to find his rhythm.

When Jaiswal tried to clear short third on Jansen’s short ball, the extra bounce made it easy to catch, and Jaiswal fell for 35 off 18.

Jos Buttler flicks the switch on

Buttler was on 20 off 20 toward the finish of the eighth, yet Samson came in and began tracking down limits immediately. Mayank Markande increased the Royals’ scoring rate further in the ninth over, at which point Buttler also got going. Buttler ended the over with a pulled six to win the over for 21 overall after Samson hit back-to-back sixes.

He hit straight pulls and powerful drives off the spinners to score a 32-ball fifty and maintain a run rate well above 10 per game. Buttler went from 78 to 91 with three fours in the cover region off Bhuvneshwar in the 17th over, and Markande came back only to be hit with three more sixes.

T Natarajan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar rein in Royals at the end

Notwithstanding the flood of limits, T Natarajan and Bhuvneshwar bowled the eighteenth and nineteenth overs – sprinkled with yorkers – for only 12 runs, even as Samson arrived at his fifty off 33 balls. When Buttler crossed the field, they were also accurate, and Bhuvneshwar’s piercing yorker caught him lbw in front.

Samson ramped and steered two fours and a straight six in a 17-run over to finish, anticipating more yorkers in the final over. In the end, Royals would not be satisfied with it.