In the IPL league encounter at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium here on Thursday, Sunrisers Hyderabad upset the top-seeded Rajasthan Royals with a thrilling one-run victory. Bhuvneshwar Kumar proved to be the hero of the night, delivering the huge punches when it needed most.
The game was down to two runs off the final ball when Bhuvneshwar bowled the final over with 13 runs required. He stopped the hard-hitting Rovman Powell leg-before, setting up fireworks in the dugout and in the bleachers.
The Royals were chasing 202 to win, but Bhuvneshwar had earlier bowled a fantastic opening over, sending back Impact Player Jos Buttler and Sanju Samson for ducks to put a dent in their chances.
However, the youthful guns Yashasvi Jaiswal (67, 40b, 7×4, 2×6) and Riyan Parag (77, 49b, 8×4, 4×6) kept the visitors in the hunt by playing strokes all over the park and scoring 134 off 82 balls.
With the wickets of Dhruv Jurel and Parag in his third and fourth overs, SRH captain Pat Cummins put the home team back in the hunt at a cheap.
Abhishek Sharma and Anmolpreet Singh, the home club’s in-form openers, fell cheaply earlier as the squad managed just 37 for two in the PowerPlay against a disciplined Royals bowling attack.
Travis Head, who scored 18 runs off 17 balls in the PowerPlay, was lucky to survive when a slash off the first ball of the innings from Trent Boult just flew past Riyan Parag at backward point.
Soon the left-hander switched gears, and in the company of the free-stroking Nitish Kumar Reddy (76 not out, 42b, 3×4, 8×6), pulled and lofted leggie Yuzvendra Chahal for two huge sixes in the ninth over.
Afterwards, Nitish demonstrated his class by hitting two massive sixes and a four in Chahal’s third over and then one over extra-cover off bowler Sandeep Sharma.
Sunrisers rallied to score over 200 runs because to two pivotal partnerships by Nitish: 96 (57 balls) with Head (58, 44b, 6×4, 3×6) for the third wicket, and an undefeated 70 with Heinrich Klaasen (42 not out, 19b, 3×4, 3×6).
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