The Rajasthan Royals were tied up in their pursuit against Sunrisers Hyderabad before Riyan Parag and Rahul Tewatia took over the task. RR appeared to be heading for another defeat in the thirteenth season of the Indian Premier League when Sanju Samson returned to the pavilion for the twelfth time. RR still needed 81 of 42 balls and most of the top hitters didn’t shoot. But two young Indians seized the opportunity and led RR to a famous 5 wicket victory.
Tewatia and Parag played cautiously at the start and then switched gears in the final five overs. The duo began facing the Hyderabad bowlers from 17th place when they scored 18 points.
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In the next over, Tewatia added 14 runs from Rashid. The duo added a whopping 85-race winning position to the team. Tewatia scored 45 of 28, while Parag broke 42, including two sixes.
RR skipper Steve Smith credited Tewatia and Parag for showing “great composure” in the middle and showing their depth after the first order struggled to put runs on the scoreboard.
“I thought Rahul and Riyan showed great composure when they were little. Stokesy obviously didn’t come out tonight. Or the top four didn’t fire, but today we showed our depth, ”Smith told host station Star Sports after the game.
All-rounder Ben Stokes, who played his first game of the tournament, failed to impress with the bat when he opened innings alongside Jos Buttler. He scored five runs and gave up seven runs in his one plus.
“With Stokesy back, he gives us a good balance. It was impressive, right? It just thrives in pressure situations. You bring his bowling and his fielding and he’s a great player for us. I don’t think it was the easiest wicket and the boundaries of the squares are pretty big too. What great composure from Parag. Proud to be able to get back in and score some runs, ”said the captain.
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Chasing a moderate goal of 159, Rajasthan got off to the worst possible start as they lost three early wickets in the power play. Robin Uthappa (18) and Sanju Samson (26) failed to turn their starts into a grand total.
For Hyderabad, Rashid Khan and Khaleel Ahmed took two plots each.
Earlier, skipper David Warner and Manish Pandey’s punches brought Hyderabad to 159/4 in his 20 overs. Warner scored 48 runs, while Pandey had 54 runs. Meanwhile, Pandey completed his 3,000 IPL races.
Kiwi captain Kane Williamson also did his bit when he made a cameo towards the end with an undefeated 22 of 12 balls that included two sixes. With Pandey coming out at 18, it was crucial for Williamson to make sure SRH finished well.
Rajasthan Royals are in sixth place with six points from seven games so far. They will next play the Delhi Capitals in Dubai on October 14.
(with ANI inputs)
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