Sensations in IPL 2023 seem never-ending, and yet another example is Sunday night’s encounter between SRH and RR. In another high-scoring game, Orange Army defeated the Royals by five wickets. It was a dramatic win for them and earned them two very important points.
SRH defeat RR by five wickets: another last-ball finish in IPL 2023
Coming down to bat first, Rajasthan Royals put up an excellent show with the bat as they finished 214 for the loss of just two wickets. After opener Yashasvi Jaiswal was dismissed for a smacking 35 off 18, Jos Buttler and Sanju Samson carried on the show in their home ground.
The skipper bagged a well-made 66 off 38. Buttler was stunning in his 95-run inning of 59 and was unfortunate to miss his inevitable ton before ending up being dismissed by Bhuvaneshwar Kumar.
The visitors chased down the target
Coming down to chase a huge total, SRH had a stable start as both the openers Amolpreet Singh (33 off 25) and Abhishek Sharma (55 off 34) put up a good enthusiasm.
Rahul Tripathi’s stunning knock of 47 off 29 put SRH in a strong position until the respective dismissals of him and Klassen.
However, there was more to the story. In a situation where the batting side needed 41 runs in around two overs, Glenn Philips bagged three consecutive sixes and a four from K Yadav that changed the momentum. It was a game-changing moment.
With 17 needed in the last over and Abdul Samad on strike, Sandeep Sharma was brought back to attack. Samad and Jansen took 12 runs in five balls including one six from the former, with five runs needed in the last ball.
Samad hit it straight to the long off, but it was called a no-ball! He hit the free hit for a boundary to help his team ensure a dramatic win.
Philips was awarded the player of the match for his crucial knock at an important point.