Tag: Rajasthan Royals

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Shimron Hetmyer’s Blitz Leads Rajasthan Royals to Thrilling Victory

Rajasthan Royals faced a tough situation but Shimron Hetmyer’s quickfire 27 off 10 balls secured a thrilling three-wicket win against Punjab Kings, maintaining their top spot…reports Asian Lite News

Rajasthan Royals were in a tricky situation, but Shimron Hetmyer ensured he went bang-bang to slam an unbeaten 27 off 10 balls as the visitors beat Punjab Kings in a low-scoring thriller by three wickets to maintain their pole position in the points table at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium on Saturday evening.

After restricting PBKS to 147/8 on a slow pitch, RR were in trouble at 115/5. Under mounting pressure, Hetmyer, who barely got batting time this season, smashed a four and three sixes, including the winning shot, to get RR over the line with a ball to spare, as the side got its fifth win of the tournament, while PBKS were consigned to its fourth defeat.

He was also helped by Rovman Powell making a vital five-ball 11 to give RR a slim victory in yet another last-over encounter between the two teams.

Chasing 148, Tanush Kotian, playing as an opener for the first time in Jos Butter’s absence, got off the mark with a cut past backward point off Arshdeep Singh and would go on to pull the pacer for another boundary.

From the other end, Yashasvi Jaiswal timed his flick and drove well to pick up a brace of fours. Though Kotian struggled to get going despite smashing Rabada over mid-on for four, Jaiswal cut off Sam Curran and was also helped by a misfield to take two boundaries as RR didn’t lose a wicket in power-play for the first time in IPL 2024.

Shortly after, Kotian tried to release dot-ball pressure with a big slog but was castled by Liam Livingstone. Sanju Samson injected positivity in RR’s chase by thumping Livingstone down the ground for six, followed by a pulled four. PBKS’ move to bring back Rabada worked as Jasiwal upper-cut a rising delivery to third man and trapped Samson lbw in his next over.

Arshdeep got PBKS ahead when he had Parag caught in the deep off a top-edge, followed by Harshal Patel having Jurel caught by Shashank Singh running in from deep mid-wicket to complete a stunning grab. With 30 runs needed off 14 balls, Hetmyer breathed life into the chase by muscling Harshal for four and pulling over backward square leg for six as 14 runs came off the 18th over.

Powell brought out back-to-back drives off Curran, before being bounced out by the pacer, who had Keshav Maharaj holing out to long-on in the 19th over. With ten runs needed off the final over, Arshdeep nailed back-to-back wide yorkers, before Hetmyer smashed a six straight to long-on cushion. After a brace to long-on, Hetmyer finished off the chase by walloping a high full toss over fine leg for six to seal a tight win for RR.

Earlier, Ashutosh Sharma exhibited his incredible ball-striking ability by making a 16-ball 31 to propel PBKS to a respectable 147/8. PBKS’ suffered a top-order meltdown as RR nailed their lengths and pace of deliveries very well and forced them to play poor shots, leading to their downfall. After Jitesh Sharma made 29, impact player Ashutosh brought some late fireworks for PBKS to amass 61 runs in the last five overs.

For RR, Maharaj took 2/23 in an impressive middle-overs spell while Avesh Khan also had two scalps to his name. Yuzvendra Chahal, Trent Boult and Kuldeep Sen took a wicket each in a disciplined bowling performance for RR.

Pushed into batting first, PBKS couldn’t get going as Atharva Taide top-edged a pull-off Avesh and with both Kuldeep plus Sanju Samson in contention to take the catch, it was taken by the former despite a minor collision.

The rest of the power-play was a struggle for PBKS as they ended the power-play at 38/1, which continued in middle overs. Prabhsimran Singh tried to go big against Chahal but holed out to long-on. Jonny Bairstow tried to slap a Maharaj delivery, but spooned a catch to cover, giving the left-arm spinner his first IPL wicket. He then got his second scalp by having Curran pull straight to mid-wicket.

Jitesh finally got PBKS’ first boundary in middle overs by dancing down the pitch to hammer a four over Maharaj’s head while Shashank Singh drove off the spinner for another boundary. But Kuldeep had Shashank miscuing a pull to Jurel, who took his third catch of the match.

Jitesh injected some momentum in PBKS’ innings by lofting Chahal over extra cover for six and crunching Kuldeep for a loft down the ground to pick another maximum. Livingstone also found boundaries by heaving and swiping Kuldeep for four and six respectively.

But in a bid to go over mid-off, Jitesh miscued the shot and gave a catch to the fielder off Avesh. Livingstone wanted to go for a second run, but Ashutosh sent him back. By then, Samson had collected the under-arm throw from debutant Kotian and had Livingstone run out.

Ashutosh, dropped at nine due to a collision between Samson and Avesh for taking his catch, provided finishing touches by smashing three brutal sixes – two of them coming over long-on and firmly struck a four through extra cover before a top-edge on the pull caught by backward point led to his dismissal on last ball of the PBKS’ stop-start innings, which wasn’t enough to deny RR their second win away from home.

Brief scores:

Punjab Kings 147/8 in 20 overs (Ashutosh Sharma 31, Jitesh Sharma 29; Keshav Maharaj 2-23, Avesh Khan 2-34) lost to Rajasthan Royals 152/7 in 19.5 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 39, Shimron Hetmyer 27 not out; Kagiso Rabada 2-18, Sam Curran 2-25) by three wickets.

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RR Dominate MI with Parag’s Heroics

Parag struck five fours and three sixes and shared a 40-run partnership for the fourth wicket with Ravichandran Ashwin as Rajasthan Royals recovered from 48/3 to reach 127/4…reports Asian Lite News

Riyan Parag slammed back-to-back half-centuries as Rajasthan Royals hammered Mumbai Indians by six wickets with 27 balls to spare in Match 14 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 at the Wankhede Stadium on Monday.

In a match dominated by the bowlers, Parag struck the lone fifty, his composed knock coming off 38 balls as he ended the match with a flurry of shots, two sixes and a four off Gerald Coetzee to seal the third victory for Rajasthan Royals, taking them to the top of the IPL table with six points.

Parag struck five fours and three sixes and shared a 40-run partnership for the fourth wicket with Ravichandran Ashwin as Rajasthan Royals recovered from 48/3 to reach 127/4. The victory was set up by their bowlers — Trent Boult (3-22) and Yuzvendra Chahal (3-11) as they helped them restrict Mumbai Indians to 125/9 in 20 overs. Nandre Burger claimed 2-32 to contribute to the RR cause after skipper Sanju Samson had won the toss and elected to field first on a pitch that provided seam movement initially but eased out in the second innings.

Yashasvi Jaiswal struck the 17-year-old South African pacer Kwena Maphaka to back-to-back boundaries off the fourth and fifth deliveries of the opening over, carving it squarely on the off over point from a full-length delivery and following it by clearing the infield on the leg-side when the pacer pitched it short.

But the young South African had his revenge on the next delivery, as a full-length delivery outside off shaped away and Jaiswal lobbed it straight to Tim David at cover. Maphaka claimed his first IPL wicket in his second match after going wicketless for 66 against SRH in Hyderabad. RR were 10/1.

Skipper Sanju Samson lashed a widish delivery from Maphaka through point for a boundary and then enjoyed the same result off the next delivery, as the bowler offered more width. But Samson was out soon, castled by Akash Madhwal as he chopped onto his stumps, attempting a cut without any foot movement.

And when Jos Buttler, who was troubled by Jasprit Bumrah despite being struck for a boundary, was out for 13, caught by Piyush Chawla as he pulled Akash Madhwal flat and straight to fine leg, Rajasthan Royals were in trouble at 48/3 in the 7th over.

However, a 40-run partnership off 35 balls for the fourth wicket between Riyan Parag and Ravichandran Ashwin propelled them ahead on course to victory. While Parag dropped anchor, Ashwin struck a run-a-ball 16, hitting a four as Rajasthan Royals remained on course. It was slow going as RR tried to consolidate their position. Madhwal got Ashwin for his third wicket, with a short one outside off and Ashwin attempted to turn it to leg and edged it to Tilak Varma.

Parag ramped Gerald Coetzee to the boundary and followed it up with another boundary off the next delivery. A boundary each off Coetzee and Bumrah helped him keep RR’s hopes alive. They reached 100/4 in the 14th over.

With 25 needed off 36 balls, Parag slogged Piyush Chawal over cow corner for his first six and in the next over carved Coetzee over cover for six and followed it up with a pull-over midwicket to complete his back-to-back fifties.

He sealed victory for Rajasthan Royals with a top-edge off a short one by Coetzee as the ball sailed over the keeper’s head to the boundary. Parag remained unbeaten on 54 as he helped Rajasthan Royals to their third victory in three matches. They also became the second team after KKR to win an away match in IPL 2024.

Brief scores:

Mumbai Indians 125/9 in 20 overs (Hardik Pandya 34, Tilak Varma 32; Yuzvendra Chahal 3-11, Trent Boult 3-22, Nandre Burger 2-32) lost to Rajasthan Royals 127/4 in 15.3 overs (Riyan Parag 54 not out; Akash Madhwal 3-20) by six wickets.

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Giants Fall Short Against Resilient Royals

Rajasthan Royals opt to bat, score 193/4 with Samson-Parag partnership, then defend to defeat Lucknow Super Giants with 173/6, marking a victorious start to IPL 2024 campaign…reports Asian Lite News

Nicholas Pooran’s 63 and KL Rahul’s 58 went in vain as Rajasthan Royals (RR) rode on a superb unbeaten 82 by skipper Sanju Samson and clinical bowling performance to beat Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) by 20 runs in the fourth match of the Indian Premier League (IPL), here at Sawai Mansingh Stadium.

Electing to bat first, Rajasthan Royals stormed to a competitive 193/4 in their 20 overs thanks to a 93-run partnership between Samson and Riyan Parag before coming back to restrict Lucknow Super Giants to 173/6 to start their IPL 2024 campaign on a winning note.

Chasing the target of 194, Lucknow Super Giants struggled early in the inning as Trent Boult struck twice in consecutive overs, dismissing Quinton de Kock and Devdutt Padikkal. In his first over after getting struck for four by de Kock, Boult made a comeback with a fullish delivery outside leg and Nandre Burger took an easy catch at the fine leg.

Boult then removed Padikkal for a duck, who was in his debut inning for LSG. The seasoned pacer from New Zealand went slightly on the shorter side of the length this time while angling it into the left-hander. The ball pitched on or about off stump, and came back in while not entirely taking off from the pitch. Padikkal had shaped to swipe – perhaps seeing the length – and so it was too late by the time he tried to bend.

Nandre Burger, who came in as an Impact Player then removed Ayush Badoni for one run.

After the early setback, Deepak Hooda and skipper K.L. Rahul pulled LSG back into the game as they both stitched a partnership collecting boundaries and maximums. Hooda’s first two scoring strokes were a six and a four in consecutive balls as he used Burger’s pace to pick the deep third boundary before Rahul recovered from another helmet-thumping bouncer from Boult to slog-sweep R. Ashwin over deep midwicket for six. LSG finished the Powerplay at 47 for 3.

Yuzvendra Chahal struck in his first over to extend his lead at the top of the IPL all-time wickets stats. It was an appropriately breezy knock from Hooda, 26 from 13 all told, including a second six over deep midwicket off Avesh Khan. But his attempt to charge Chahal failed, as Dhruv Jurel judged well to take the catch, five metres in from the rope.

Lucknow reached 76 for 4 at the halfway mark, with Pooran surviving a diving attempt from Riyan Parag at long-off to bring up his first six. But the chase was far from done yet, as Burger bowled an expensive third over conceding 17 runs including a six and two fours from Rahul.

Boult returned for his fourth and final over and ended up conceding 20 runs, including two maximums and a boundary. Rahul, meanwhile reached his fifty from 35 balls. A perfectly even-paced response to that powerplay meltdown.

Pooran on the other hand batted sensibly and rotated the strike carefully. Rajasthan kept themselves in the fight keeping the run-rate at roughly two-a-ball. After the strategic time-out, KL Rahul looked in a hurry and took on the wide line from Sandeep Sharma and picked out Jurel in the covers. Rahul got out for a well-made 58 from 44, ending a stand of 85 from 52, as Marcus Stoinis joined the battle.

Marcus Stoinis has to go hard from the get-go, and Ashwin’s carrom ball had his measure. A slog to deep midwicket brought Krunal Pandya to the middle as Stoinis went back to the pavilion scoring just three off four deliveries.

Sandeep Sharma bowled a brilliant 19th over, giving just 11 overs, leaving Avesh Khan to defend 27 in the final six balls. Avesh was outstanding with his wide outside yorker and delivered on the captain’s expectations as he gave only six runs. It was an anticlimactic end for the Giants as they lost the match by 20 runs.

Earlier in the first inning, Rajasthan Royals scored 193/4 in their 20 overs. Skipper Samson was the key batter for the Royals as he continued to find gaps and score boundaries with ease. His innings of 82 off 52 deliveries were marked with six maximums and three boundaries.

After an early setback, Samson anchored the Royals innings whereas Riyan Parag played the aggressive part. Coming to bat at No. 4, all-rounder Parag, who had a good domestic season, got off to a decent start but soon started changing gears. Yash Thakur with his first over of the inning got punished for 21 runs. Both the Royals batter marked their bowler and took all possible risks to score against him. Ravi Bishnoi was welcomed with 15 runs by Parag and Samson.

Skipper Samson reached his maiden fifty against LSG in 33 deliveries. In between this, left-arm unorthodox spinner Krunal Pandya held the game in favour of the Giants. His four-over; 19 runs spell was marked by no boundary.

Parag fell short of his half-century as he was dismissed by Haq, who clinched his second wicket of the evening. The over already saw the Royals batter scoring 14 runs, a boundary, a maximum, and few wides and singles. However, in an attempt to pull a short ball over a deep backward square leg, Parag lost his wicket as he holed out to substitute fielder Deepak Hooda. Parag was dismissed for 43 runs.

Parag and Samson added 93 runs for the third-wicket partnership. However, the partnership was marked by three dropped chances by the Giants fielder. Mohsin Khan dropped Parag at 21 and Samson at 36.

The outstanding performance by Sandeep Sharma at the crucial juncture of the game proved fruitful for the Royals as they kicked off the tournament with a win. Boult yet again in the powerplay was superb, Ashwin was a bit expensive but got the big wicket of Stoinis. A brilliant team performance from the Royals and they will now face Delhi Capitals on March 28 at Jaipur.

Brief Score:

Rajasthan Royals 193/4 in 20 overs (Sanju Samson 82 not out, Riyan Parag 43; Naveen-ul-Haq 2-42, Ravi Bishnoi 1-38) beat Lucknow Super Giants 173/6 in 20 overs (Nicholas Pooran 64 not out, KL Rahul 58; Trent Boult 2-35, Sandeep Sharma 1-22) by 20 runs.

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SRH clinch thrilling win over RR

Jaipur, May 07 (ANI): Sunrisers Hyderabad's Abhishek Sharma plays a shot in a match against Rajasthan Royals during the Indian Premier League 2023, at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, in Jaipur on Sunday. (ANI Photo/Digital Restriction)

With this win, SRH has rose to the ninth spot with four wins and six losses, with a total of eight points…reports Asian Lite News

Top knocks from Abhishek Sharma and Rahul Tripathi followed by fiery cameos from Glenn Phillips and Abdul Samad helped Sunrisers Hyderabad clinch a four-wicket win in their IPL 2023 match against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Jaipur on Sunday.

With this win, SRH has rose to the ninth spot with four wins and six losses, with a total of eight points. RR is in the fourth spot with five wins, six losses and a total of 10 points. Abhishek Sharma gave a solid start with his 55 off 34 runs and the game-changing cameo of Glenn Phillips’s 25 off just 7 balls gave SRH their biggest win of the season so far.

Yuzvendra Chahal was the pick of the bowlers for RR, he took four wickets conceding 29 runs. Kuldip Yadav and R Ashwin took one scalp each.

Chasing the highest target in Jaipur, SRH openers Abhishek Sharma and Anmolpreet Singh started the innings steady as they brought their 50-run partnership in 34 balls. However, they lost their first wicket in the final over of powerplay. Chahal dismissed Anmolpreet at 33 off 25 balls. SRH was 51/1 in 5.5 overs.

After the end of the powerplay, SRH were at 52/1. Rahul Tripathi (1* off 1 balls) and Abhishek Sharma (18* off 10 balls) were unbeaten.

Abhishek then built 50 run partnership with Rahul Tripathi in 36 balls and they brought up the 100-run mark for SRH on the scoreboard in 11.3 overs.

Abhishek brought his fifty in 33 balls but was quickly dismissed by Ashwin in the 13th over. He scored 55 off 34 balls, consisting of five fours and two sixes. SRH was at 116/2 in 12.4 overs.

Heinrich Klaasen arrived at the crease and gave some hope to SRH fans with his clean and quick-hitting. However, he became Chahal’s second victim, scoring 26 off 12 balls. SRH was 157/3 in 15.5 overs.

In the 18th over, Chahal pushed SRH into the back seat as he picked two wickets. Rahul Tripathi was dismissed at 47 off 29 balls and Aiden Markram got out at 6 off 5 balls. SRH sunk to 174/5 in 17.5 overs and perhaps a lot was left for the remaining line-up to hit in the final overs. Chahal also got his four-wicket haul and became the joint-highest wicket-taker in the league’s history.

However, the match was turned full upside down in the penultimate over when Glenn Phillips hit three consecutive sixes and a four on Kuldip Yadav’s bowling. But the bowler did not let the Kiwi batter finish the match, dismissing him for 25 off seven balls. SRH was at 196/6 in 18.5 overs.

In the last over, SRH needed 17 runs. That oversaw a lot of drama, as RR had won the match after Abdul Samad was caught on the final ball. But after it was called a no-ball, SRH won the match, with Samad hitting a six on final ball.

Earlier, Choose to Bat, RR plans were clear as they started off with a boundary. Yashasvi Jaiswal was taking form from the previous match forward and was hitting boundaries in every over. Jos Buttler also joined him as they added a 50-run partnership off 26 balls.

Marco Jansen brought the wicket for SRH when he got the breakthrough of Yashasvi Jaiswal at short third man. Jaiswal scored 35 off 18 balls.

After the end of the powerplay, RR were 70/1, Sanju Samson 11* off 7 and Jos Buttler 18* off 17 balls.

RR’s batter attacked Mayank Markande in the 9th over, collecting 21 runs with three sixes.

Rajasthan reached the 100-run mark in just 9.4 overs. Buttler 37* off 26 balls and Samson 28 off 16 balls.

Buttler and Samson were not giving any chance to the bowlers, they achieved the 50 runs partnership off 29 balls.

Buttler who missed his mark in the previous match, bounced back as he smashed his half-century off 32 balls in 11.4 overs.

SRH bowlers were looking helpless as they had no answer for the explosive batting of Rajasthan. RR brought their 150-run mark in 14.2 overs.

Samson brought his fifty off 33 balls in the 18th over.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Marco Jansen were the only bowlers who got one breakthrough.

Like the first match of the day, Buttler also fell short of scoring his century. He was dismissed by Bhuvneshwar in 18.3 overs at 95 off 59 balls.

Rajasthan collected 17 runs in the last over, posting the highest target in Jaipur.

Yuzvendra Chahal was the pick of the bowlers for RR, he took four wickets conceding 29 runs. Kuldip Yadav, R Ashwin took one scalp each.

Brief scores Rajasthan Royals 214/2 (Jos Buttler 95, Sanju Samson 66, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 1/44) vs Sunrisers Hyderabad 217/6 (Abhishek Sharma 55, Rahul Tripathi 47, Yuzvendra Chahal 4/29) (ANI)

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Samson blitz rescues Rajasthan Royals

With Rajasthan at 66/4 in 12 overs, Samson breathed life back in the waning chase by hitting Rashid for a hat-trick of sixes…reports Asian Lite News

Rajasthan Royals were literally in a no man’s land at 66/4 in 12 overs in pursuit of chasing down 178 against a Gujarat Titans bowling attack, who bowled 26 dot balls in the first six overs.

With 112 more runs off 48 balls, not many would have given them a chance for a victory. But captain Sanju Samson unleashed by taking 20 runs off Rashid Khan in the 13th over to eventually make 60 while Shimron Hetmyer smashed a whirlwind unbeaten 56 off just 26 balls to give Rajasthan an improbable three-wicket victory.

The stunning last-over heist also means Rajasthan retain their top spot on the points table with eight points. Samson and Hetmyer added a crucial stand of 59 runs off 27 balls, followed by the latter adding 47 runs off 20 deliveries with Dhruv Jurel to complete the chase with four balls to spare.

Mohammed Shami built pressure from the word go while troubling Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler. Gujarat were rewarded when Hardik Pandya had Jaiswal nicking to slip while Buttler’s attempt to scoop backfired as Shami sent the off-stump on a cartwheel ride.

Gujarat could have got their third wicket had Shubman Gill held on to a tough chance at slip to dismiss Devdutt Padikkal. After the powerplay ended at 26/2, Rashid had Padikkal caught by short third man while Riyan Parag holed out to a forward diving long-off.

With Rajasthan at 66/4 in 12 overs, Samson breathed life back in the waning chase by hitting Rashid for a hat-trick of sixes — once over long-off while pulling twice over deep mid-wicket. Hetmyer took on Joseph by heaving past leaping deep square leg for six and slogging through the same region for four more.

After getting his fifty in 29 balls, Samson took on debutant spinner Noor Ahmad, lofting a drive over long-off for six and pulling past short fine leg for four. But the teenager, coming in as an impact player for Gill, had the last laugh as Samson skied to long-off to get his first IPL wicket.

Hetmyer stood tall by smacking two gigantic sixes off Joseph in the 16th over, with Jurel dabbing for a four. He then pulled Rashid for four, before slamming a six over long-on to take 13 runs off the 18th over. Jurel smacked Shami over long-on for six, but the pacer bounced back by having him top-edge a hook to fine leg.

Ravichandran Ashwin slapped his first ball over point for four, and followed it up with a pulled six over deep mid-wicket. Though Ashwin fell after slicing to short third man, Hetmyer finished off the chase by pulling Ahmad over deep mid-wicket for six to complete a sensational chase for Rajasthan.

Earlier, David Miller was dropped on six on his seventh ball as Adam Zampa made a mess of a regulation caught and bowled chance. He went on to top-score with 46 off 30 balls and powered Gujarat to a competitive 177/7.

Apart from Miller, Gujarat were also aided by 45 from Gill, 28 from Hardik and 27 from Abhinav Manohar at the back end. For Rajasthan, pacer Sandeep Sharma was pick of bowlers with 2/25, while Zampa, Yuzvendra Chahal and Trent Boult took a wicket each.

Pushed into batting first, Wriddhiman Saha gave a fat top-edge on a hoick and with wicketkeeper as well as two fielders converging, Boult took a catch on rebound off keeper’s gloves. Sai Sudharsan struck two fours, before being run out for 20.

Gill used his feet well in getting close to the pitch of the ball for sweeping and lofting off Ashwin for back-to-back fours. Hardik, promoting himself to number four, immediately attacked Zampa by swinging down the ground for a four and six respectively.

Ashwin came under further attack as Gill continued to use his feet to loft over extra cover for four and over long-on for six, while Hardik got an outside edge running past short third man for four as 17 runs came off the over.

But Chahal broke the 59-run partnership by having Hardik go for a cross-bat heave, but the ball spun away to take a top-edge to extra cover. Five overs later, Gill holed out to long-on off Sandeep. After being put down on six, Miller smacked Chahal for a brace of sixes in the leg-side.

Manohar hit Boult for back-to-back sixes in the 18th over a pull over long-on was followed by pummeling over long-off. In the next over, Miller pulled Zampa for four, before Manohar launched the leg-spinner high over long-on for six.

But Zampa had the last laugh by having Manohar slicing to point. Miller cracked consecutive fours on wide yorkers from Sandeep through the off-side, before slicing a high full toss to deep cover, as 11 runs came off the final over.

Brief Scores: Gujarat Titans 177/7 in 20 overs (David Miller 46, Shubman Gill 45; Sandeep Sharma 2/25, Adam Zampa 1/32) lost to Rajasthan Royals 179/7 in 19.2 overs (Sanju Samson 60, Shimron Hetmyer 56 not out; Mohammed Shami 3/25, Rashid Khan 2/46) by three wickets.

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Rajasthan Royals beat Chennai Super Kings in a last-ball thriller

Chasing a target of 176 on a slow turner and with dew coming down in copious amounts was expected to be easy for Chennai Super Kings in what was the 200th match for Dhoni as captain….reports Asian Lite News

A valiant blazing 32 not out off 17 balls by skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni went in vain as Chennai Super Kings lost to Rajasthan Royals by three runs in a last-ball edge-of-the-seat thriller in the India Premier League (IPL) 2023 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium here on Wednesday.

Chasing a target of 176 on a slow turner and with dew coming down in copious amounts was expected to be easy for Chennai Super Kings in what was the 200th match for Dhoni as captain. The CSK skipper made a brave effort by hitting two sixes in the final over but in the end, fell short narrowly.

But after recovering from the setback of losing Rituraj Gaikwad, their top scorer so far, for eight runs, but recovering to 78/1 thanks to Devon Conway and Ajinkya Rahane, CSK reached a stage with 40 needed off the last 12 deliveries, Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja pulled them to 21 off six and then seven off three deliveries. It boiled down to five runs off the final delivery faced by Dhoni when Sandeep Sharma, who had started the final over with two wides, bowled a good yorker to deny Dhoni the glory on his milestone day.

After deciding to bowl first and restricting Rajasthan Royals to what initially looked like a below-par 175/8 in 20 overs, Chennai could manage 172/6 in 20 overs and lost by a narrow margin.

Earlier, brilliant bowling by Rajasthan Royals spinner Ravichandran Ashwin (2-25) and Yuzvendra Chahal (2-27) off their respective four overs had hampered Chennai Super Kings’ chase as they had recovered from losing an early wicket to reach 78/1 in the 10th over.

Opener Devon Conway, who had struck Adam Zampa to two boundaries in the fifth over, and seasoned Ajinkya Rahane (31) had repaired the innings but things went downhill for CSK on their home ground after Ashwin had trapped Rahane in front to give Rajasthan Royals the much-needed breakthrough.

Ashwin also got Shivam Dube (8 off 9) while Adam Zampa accounted for the dangerous Moeen Ali (7 off 10) and Chahal sent back Ambati Rayudu (1) as Chennai Super Kings slumped to 103/5. Chahal then claimed the prized wicket of Devon Conway (50), and Chennai Super Kings looked down and out.

However, skipper MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja struck some big blows as they pulled CSK to 40 runs needed off the last two overs. Dhoni and Jadeja hammered Jason Holder for two sixes and a four as they raised 19 runs from the 19th over.

With CSK needing 21 runs off the last over, Sandeep Sharma started with a couple of wides and then Dhoni smacked sixes off the next two deliveries off two low full-tosses and Chennai needed seven from three deliveries.

He managed one run off the fourth delivery of the over and Jadeja could take a single off the fifth delivery, leaving it for Dhoni to get five runs off the last delivery to seal the victory. Sandeep Sharma bowled a superb yorker and Dhoni could manage only one run as Rajasthan Royals claimed a thrilling win.

Brief scores:

Rajasthan Royals 175/8 in 20 overs (Jos Buttler 52, Devdutt Padikkal 38, R Ashwin 30, Shimron Hetmyer 30 not out; Ravindra Jadeja 2-21, Tushar Deshpande 2-37, Akash Singh 2-40) beat Chennai Super Kings 172/6 in 20 overs (Devon Conway 50, Ajinkya Rahane 31, M.S Dhoni 32 not out, Ravindra Jadeja 25 not out; r Ashwin 2-25, Yuzvendra Chahal 2-27) by 3 runs.

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Punjab Kings beat Rajasthan Royals in nail-biting thriller

For Royals, captain Sanju Samson top scored with 42 off 25 while Shimron Hetmyer made a crucial 36 off 18 to take the game into the final over….reports Asian Lite News

A captain’s knock of an unbeaten 85 by Shikhar Dhawan along with Prabhsimran Singh’s 60 followed by a four-fer by Nathan Ellis helped Punjab Kings (PBKS) clinch a final-over thriller against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Match 8 of the IPL 2023 here at Barsapara Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.

Dhawan’s unbeaten 85 along with Prabhsimran Singh’s maiden half-century helped PBKS set a 198-run target. In reply, after a slow start, Royals turned the momentum into their favour but fell short of 5 runs in front of Sam Curran’s brilliant display in the final over.

For Royals, captain Sanju Samson top scored with 42 off 25 while Shimron Hetmyer made a crucial 36 off 18 to take the game into the final over.

RR started the chase with a strange batting line-up as Ravichandran Ashwin came in to open with Yashasvi Jaiswal because Jos Buttler had gone off the field immediately after taking a catch in the last over of the Punjab Kings’ innings.

Chasing 198, the Royals got off to a dismal start as they were reduced to 26/2 within four overs. Then skipper Sanju Samson and Buttler took the Punjab bowlers to cleaners with their well-timed shots before Nathan Ellis caught and bowled the big fish Buttler for 19. The royals were reeling at 57/3 at the end of the powerplay.

Ellis struck again in the 11th over to pile further misery on the Royals as he trapped skipper Samson for 42, reducing RR to 91/4. Then, Riyan Parag infused life into the game with a six over mid-wicket off Rahul Chahar in the 12th over. He then pumped over the long-on for another one in the next over.

Ellis claimed his third scalp in the 15th over, dismissing Parag for 20 off 12. In the same over, he cleaned up Devdutt Padikkal on a length ball, picking up his fourth wicket and making the task tougher for the Royals.

Then, Shimron Hetmyer and Dhruv Jurel went for hits to keep the Royals’ hopes alive, bringing the equation to 34 runs in 12 balls. In the penultimate over, Dhruv Jurel slammed a couple of fours and a six, bringing the equation to 16 in 6.

Sam Curran started the final over by giving a single and a double. On the third ball of the over, Hetmyer got run out, and 12 were needed off three balls to win. But Curran held his nerve and gave away just seven runs off the next three deliveries as PBKS wrapped up the win.

Earlier batting first, Prabhsimran and Dhawan gave PBKS a strong start as they posted 63 for no loss at the end of the Power-play.

Afterwards, RR bowlers kept PBKS’ run rate in check with just two big hits coming in the next four overs. In between, Prabhsimran completed his maiden IPL half-century off 28 deliveries with a single in the eighth over before falling to Holder in the tenth over for 60.

Halfway through, PBKS were 92 for 1. In the 11th over PBKS suffered a blow as Bhanuka Rajapaksa was taken off the field by the physios after getting hit in the forearm on his right hand by Dhawan’s shot.

Jitesh Sharma then came out to join Dhawan and the duo accelerated the run rate with their calculated batting and stitched a 66-run stand for the second wicket, which Chahal broke in the 16th over, dismissing Jitesh for 27.

On the very first ball of the 17th over, Ravichandran Ashwin cleaned up Sikander Raza for 1 as the Royals lost two wickets in no time. In the final over, Holder got his second in the form of Shahrukh Khan.

With 45 runs coming off the last three overs for the loss of two wickets, PBKS posted a total of 197 for four in 20 overs.

Brief scores: Punjab Kings 197/4 in 20 overs (Shikhar Dhawan 86 not out, Prabhsimran Singh 60; Jason Holder 2-29) beat Rajasthan Royals 192/7 in 20 overs (Sanju Samson 42, Shimron Hetmyer 36; Nathan Ellis 4-30, Arshdeep Singh 2-47) by 5 runs

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A thumping win for RR against SRH

Chasing a big total of 204, Sunrisers got early blows as Trent Boult dismissed opener Abhishek Sharma and Rahul Tripathi for ducks….reports Asian Lite News

Impressive half-centuries from top-order batters — Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sanju Samson — followed by Yuzvendra Chahal’s superb four-fer (4/17) powered Rajasthan Royals to a thumping 72-run victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the fourth match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, here on Sunday.

Riding on fifties from Buttler (54 off 22), Jaiswal (54 off 37) and Samson (55 off 32), RR posted a massive total of 203/5 on the board. In response, SRH suffered early batting collapse as they managed to score 131/8 in their 20 overs with Abdul Samad top scoring with unbeaten 32.

Chasing a big total of 204, Sunrisers got early blows as Trent Boult dismissed opener Abhishek Sharma and Rahul Tripathi for ducks. Abhishek was completely outplayed by Boult’s sizzling yorker as the ball flattened the off stump in the third delivery of the innings.

A dot ball later, the Kiwi pacer struck again to remove Tripathi, who got caught at the slip by Jason Holder. But Tripathi went for a review, thinking that he had not nicked it at all. However, the replay confirmed that Tripathi had nickled the ball and he had to walk back.

Harry Brook and Mayank Agarwal cautiously took the innings forward with RR bowlers keeping a tight leash on SRH’s run-rate as the Bhuvneshwar-led side managed to score 30 for a loss of two wickets in the powerplay.

After the powerplay, Sunrisers kept losing wickets at regular intervals as Yuzvendra Chahal put another dent on SRH’s batting in the seventh over as he cleaned up debutant Harry Brook and the hosts went into deep trouble in the ninth over when Jason Holder removed Washington Sundar for 1.

In the next over, Ravichandran Ashwin too joined the party and sent Glenn Philips back to the hut with Sunrisers reeling 48 for 5 after 10 overs. Chahal struck again in the 11th over to dismiss Agarwal, who holed out to long-on for a six where Buttler completed the catch comfortably.

It almost became an impossible task for the Sunrisers to pull off a win with half of their side heading back to pavilion. At the end of the 14th over, SRH lost Rashid, who went down the track and missed Chahal’s slower ball by some distance and Samson did the rest behind the stumps to leave SRH seven down.

Chahal picked up his fourth in the 18th over as he cleaned up skipper Bhuvneshwar Kumar. With some late hits, Abdul Samad and Umran Malik stitched an unbeaten 36-run partnership to take SRH to a respectable total of 131 in 20 overs.

Earlier, a minute of silence was observed to mourn the loss of the legendary all-rounder Salim Durani, who passed away at his residence in Jamnagar after a prolonged battle with cancer at the age of 88.

When the game started, the opening duo of Buttler and Yashaswi Jaiswal gave RR a strong start with 85 coming off the first six over for the loss on one wicket after they were invited to bat first.

Buttler completed his fifty off just 20 balls with two boundaries in the sixth over. But Fazalhaq Farooqi didn’t let Buttler extend his stay on the crease as he sent the attacking batter back soon after his half-century, ending the 85-run opening partnership at the end of the powerplay.

After Buttler’s dismissal, SRH run rate slowed down a bit but the skipper took over the aggressor’s role and went for two boundaries in the eight over as RR crossed the 100-run mark. SRH bowlers were seen struggling to pick up wickets while Jaiswal continued to go on his merry way, putting the loose balls away. Halfway through the innings, Royals were 122 for 1.

Jaiswal brought up his fourth IPL fifty off 34 deliveries in the 12th over. In the 13th over, Jaiswal’s inning came to an end as he fell to Farooqi while going for a big shot but did not get hold of it and the ball went to Mayank Agarwal at deep mid-wicket.

Very soon, Umran Malik picked up his first as he cleaned up Devdutt Padikkal cheaply for 2, pushing RR to 151/3 14.1 overs.

After his expensive first over, Natarajan came into attack again in the 17th over to dismiss Royan Parag just after the timeout. Then, Shimron Hetmyer came in and started off with a single. The next ball Samson completed his 28-ball fifty with a single.

Natarajan got his second in the penultimate over by dismissing Samson, who went for a maximum but Abhishek Sharma was there on the edge of the cushions to complete the brilliant catch while juggling his left-foot to not touch the skirting.

With 10 runs coming off the final over, Royals posted a total of 203 for the loss of 5 wickets in 20 overs.

Brief scores: Brief scores: Rajasthan Royals 203/5 in 20 overs (Yashaswi Jaiswal 54 off 37, Jos Buttler 54 off 22 and Sanju Samson 55 off 32; Fazalhaq Farooqi 2/41, T Natarajan 2/23) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad 131/8 in 20 overs (Abdul Samad 32 off 32, Mayank Agarwal 27 off 23; Yuzvendra Chahal 4/17, Trent Boult 2/21) by 72 runs

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