It was case of so near yet so far for Rajasthan Royals against SunRisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2024 on Thursday. The Sanju Samson-led side fell shot by 1 run chasing 202. Travis Head played a smart knock as SRH posted 201/3 in 20 overs. His innings could have been over quite early had he not been let off early on in his innings. Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar, who was commentating on Star Sports, was stunned to see Riyan Parag drop Head at backward point.
He said: “Well I tell you what, preserve this video because this man never misses anything. This is a rare footage, because generally this man is as safe as the Reserve Back of India. But not this time around”.
Talking about the match, experienced seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar said he wasn’t thinking much and just focussed on bowling two good deliveries after scripting SunRisers Hyderabad’s sensational one-run win with a last-ball wicket in an IPL thriller on Thursday. Defending 12 in the final over, Bhuvneshwar trapped Rovman Powell in front of the wicket in the last ball to stop Rajasthan Royal’s run chase at 200 for 7 and pull off a heist in the end.
SRH had scored 201 for 3 in their 20 overs, riding on fifties from Travis Head and Nitish Kumar Reddy.
“I wasn’t thinking much about the result in the last over. There was no discussion in the last over, was just focussed on the process. Was thinking just about bowling two good balls, anything could have happened,” Bhuvneshwar, who was adjudged the Player of the Match for his 3 for 41, said at the post-match presentation.
“The ball swung so much, can’t really pinpoint, really enjoyed it. Luckily got wickets today. When the season started thought process was different, but it changed when the batters played in such a way,” he added.
SRH captain Pat Cummins was a happy man after his team managed to snap a two-game losing streak.
“It was an amazing game. That’s T20 cricket. Anything can happen, Bhuvi executed that last ball. You try to take some wickets in the middle. Natarajan is a good yorker bowler, fortunately we got some wickets,” said the Australian pacer , who bowled a superb 19th over conceding just 7 runs.
“We played some games here, thought 200 could have been chased down. He (Nitish Reddy) sums up the conditions pretty well, he’s amazing, great in the field, gives some overs with the ball as well,” Cummins added.
Rajasthan Royals skipper Sanju Samson said that even while it seemed his side was cruising to victory he was not certain they would get over the line given the unpredictable nature of the league.
“We have played some really close games this season, won a couple of them and lost this one. Credit to the SRH bowlers for the way they fought back,” he said.
“The margin of errors is very less in the IPL. The game is never done till it is done. It was tough to bat against the new ball and when it got old, it became easier.
He was full of praise for the young duo of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Riyan Parag who resurrected the Royals’ innings after Jos Buttler and Samson got out for ducks in the first over.
“Credit to both youngsters (Jaiswal and Parag), myself and Jos (Buttler) got out in the powerplay, they played well and got us to that position,” Samson Said.
