Sunrisers Hyderabad clinch 1-run win over toppers Rajasthan Royals in last over IPL thriller

Magician Bhuvneshwar Kumar defended 13 off the last over as Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) pulled off a thrilling one-run win over table-toppers Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Match 50 of the TATA IPL 2024 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.

Bhuvneshwar had set the tone with the crucial wickets of Jos Buttler and Sanju Samson in the first over. And then, some brilliant slog-overs bowling saw SRH defend 45 off the last five overs with seven wickets left for RR, after a tremendous rescue act from Yashasvi Jaiswal and Riyan Parag had resurrected RR with a 134-run stand.

Earlier, solid knocks from Travis Head, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Heinrich Klaasen had propelled SRH to 210/3 after they were reduced to 35/2 inside the Powerplay.

Defending 201, SRH got off to a fantastic start as Bhuvneshwar Kumar had Impact Player Jos Buttler caught at slip off the second ball of the innings and then castled RR captain Sanju Samson three balls later off a beautiful inswinger.

Marco Jansen bowled a tight second over, conceding just five. Riyan Parag then got off the mark with confidence and authority, cracking two fours and a six off Bhuvneshwar. SRH could have had another wicket inside the powerplay, but captain Pat Cummins dropped Yashasvi Jaiswal at mid off, off Jansen in the fourth over. Jaiswal added salt to SRH's wounds as he cracked two fours in the same over and then smashed a couple of fours and a six off Cummins. Parag continued to play some brilliant strokes as he hit a couple of fours off T Natarajan, but he too got lucky as Abhishek Sharma dropped him at extra cover two balls later.

Jaiswal and Parag steadied the ship, mixed caution with aggression, and resurrected RR. Jaiswal brought up his fifty off 30 balls, while Parag brought up his half-century in style with a reverse-lapped four off Shahbaz Ahmed in the same over. The pair added 134 runs and just when it seemed like it was looking all too easy for RR, Cummins brought back Natarajan, and he broke the partnership, cleaning up Jaiswal for 67(40).

Parag continued to motor on, but with 45 needed off, Cummins brought himself back into the attack. He built the pressure, giving away just two runs from his first four balls, and the pressure got to Parag as he mistimed his loft straight to the long on fielder on 77(49).

The SRH captain gave away just three off the over. With 42 needed off 24, Rovman Powell counter-attacked straightaway, hitting two fours off Jansen, bringing the equation to 27 needed off 18. Hetmyer then smashed a massive 106m six off Natarajan to start the 18th over but the SRH pacer bounced back hard to have Hetmyer caught at long on three balls later. He gave away just one run off the next five balls after being hit for a six off the first ball. 

With 20 needed off 12, Cummins struck off the first ball in the penultimate over, having Dhruv Jurel caught at deep square leg. He varied his pace very well for the next four balls and gave away just one run. But Powell smashed the last ball for a thumping six over deep cover to bring the equation to 13 needed off six.

The experienced Bhuvneshwar was entrusted with the responsibility of defending 13 off the last over. R Ashwin took a single off the first ball. Powell bunted one down to long on and scampered through for a couple. He cheekily scooped one to fine leg for a four. With six needed off three, Powell thumped one to long off and scampered through for another couple, and then flicked one to deep square leg and scampered through for a couple as he dived in to complete the second with the keeper breaking the stumps. Replays showed Powell had made it.

With two needed off the last ball, Bhuvneshwar bowled a low full toss which Powell looked to flick but missed and was hit on the pads. SRH went up on an appeal and the umpire raised the finger much to the delight of the SRH players, management and fans. Powell opted for a review, but replays showed all three reds. SRH had pulled off a famous win.

Earlier, SRH won the toss and chose to bat on their home ground against the table-toppers. The match got off to an eventful start as Riyan Parag dropped Travis Head off the first ball at backward point off Trent Boult as the ball burst through his hands to the fence. It could have been another first-over wicket for Boult and a brilliant start for the visitors. Through the tournament, SRH have been the most dangerous side in the powerplay. Today, while they gave Head a lifeline off the first ball, they did extremely well to keep the aggressive top-order quiet during the fielding restrictions. Boult opened the bowling but at the other end, they introduced the off-spin of R Ashwin. While the off-spinner may not have gotten a wicket, he created enough pressure on the left-handed pair of Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head. 

In the first four overs, SRH scored only 25 and that pressure induced Abhishek to pull Avesh Khan's first ball in the fifth over to deep square-leg. Anmolpreet Singh walked in at No. 3 and started off confidently with a four through mid-wicket. However, in the last over of the powerplay, he chipped Sandeep Sharma to short mid-wicket. At the end of the powerplay, SRH were 37 for two. 

Head and Nitish Reddy began the rescue act and put on a sensible partnership that brought SRH back into the game. In tandem, they added 96 in under 10 overs to put the SRH train back on track. To begin with, they took some time and rotated strike. Head then shifted gears when Yuzvendra Chahal came on to bowl the ninth over.

The SRH opener hit the fourth ball over mid-wicket for six, followed by one down the ground. The last ball was placed through mid-wicket for another four. Nitish too got inspired by that and hit a six off Ashwin in the next over. SRH were 75 for two at the half-way mark. 

The shift in gears by the batters ensured the boundaries became more frequent. Head got to his fifty in 37 balls in the 12th over. Considering his fastest century this year has come off 39 balls only tells you the difficulty of the task before him today – with the RR bowlers applying early pressure. 

In the 13th over, Nitish really took the attack to Chahal – picking 21 runs off it. He was trying to play aggressively and even attempted a few reverse-sweeps. However, he managed to clear the ground when he targeted the areas down the ground. With Head already past fifty, Nitish was bridging the gap and getting closer with that change in approach. 

Head survived a run-out appeal in the 15th over when Sanju Samson shied at the stumps from behind the wicket. However, off the next ball, Head tried to scoop Avesh but hit it back onto his stumps. He walked back for an important 58 off 44 balls.

Heinrich Klaasen joined Nitish and the pair set off on a journey to target 200. Nitish got to his fifty and then unleashed aggressive shots off Ashwin. In the slog overs, Klaasen took most of the strike and made the best use of it.

The right-hander remained unbeaten on 42 off only 19 balls, with three sixes and three fours. This ensured SRH got past 200 off the final ball of the innings. Nitish remained unbeaten at the other end on 76 off 42 balls – his highest in the TATA IPL. Remarkably, his knock featured eight sixes alongside only three fours. Jos Buttler walked out to open the batting as an Impact Player, replacing Yuzvendra Chahal while Jaydev Unadkat was introduced as SRH's Impact Player in place of Anmolpreet Singh.