Riding on Ben Stokes and Jaydev Unadkat’s sensational bowling performances, Rising Pune Supergiant defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by 12 runs to register their eighth win of the tournament.
Chasing 149, the reigning champions were in a spot of bother, as Shikhar Dhawan and Kane Williamson were dismissed in quick succession by Ben Stokes, leaving them reeling at 29 for two.
However, their innings got back on the track courtesy of a 64 run partnership between David Warner and Yuvraj Singh before the former became Stokes’ third victim.
The home side found themselves in trouble again when Moises Henriques was clean bowled by Imran Tahir for only four. And they would have found themselves in further trouble had Manoj Tiwary not misjudged Yuvraj Singh’s catch when he was batting on 32 while the score was 101. The southpaw was finally dismissed for 47.
With 13 runs needed off the final over, Jaydev Unadat took a hattrick without conceding a single run, as the Sunrisers were restricted to 136 for nine and suffered their first defeat at home this season. Unadkat finished with figures of five for 30 in his four overs.
Earlier, a quickfire knock of 31 runs from just 21 balls from MS Dhoni had propelled the Supergiant to 148 for eight in the allotted 20 overs. Steve Smith’s men went off to a poor start with their in-form opener Rahul Tripathi departing after scoring just one. Ajinkya Rahane and Smith then steadied the ship with a 32-run stand before the former was sent back by Bipul Sharma for 22.
The innings was then taken forward by Ben Stokes and Smith but neither of the two could up the run-rate. They were tottering at 100 for three in the 15th over but managed to collect 48 runs in the last five and 32 from the last three overs to post a respectable total.
Here is how Twitter reacted to the match:
Got to admit that @stevesmith49 has done a fabulous job as captain of #RPS
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) May 6, 2017
A batsman at the end makes the difference. @msdhoni's runs were critical to #RPS. And @benstokes38 worth his weight in gold.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) May 6, 2017
James Faulkner and now Jaydev Unadkat are the only two bowlers with two five-wicket hauls in #IPL #SRHvRPS
— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) May 6, 2017
Hat trick for Unadkat, but my MoM would be Stokes. Valuable knock, wickets at key moments & imp catches too…
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) May 6, 2017
Triple wicket maiden with a hat-trick in the last over of the game. Brilliant bowling from Jaidev Unadkat #IPL
— Shubh Aggarwal (@shubh_chintak) May 6, 2017
What a game @benstokes38 is having! All 3 wickets so far and 39 (25). The engine for #RPS now
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) May 6, 2017
https://twitter.com/anuragn18/status/860854978902183936
Manoj Tiwary with the customary missed chance. #IPL Yuvraj running away with his luck
— Nikhil ? (@CricCrazyNIKS) May 6, 2017
Warner has now scored 500 runs in four consecutive seasons of the #IPL– first batsman to do so. Gayle had done so 3 times in a row.#SRHvRPS
— Rajneesh Gupta (@rgcricket) May 6, 2017
https://twitter.com/Manishshaarma/status/860840098048294912
MS Dhoni this IPL:
v Sunrisers: 92 runs, 167.27 SR
v all others: 143 runs, 94.70 SR#SRHvRPS— Bharath Seervi (@SeerviBharath) May 6, 2017
Wonder if @msdhoni is a bogey batsman for @BhuviOfficial. Twice in two matches now.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) May 6, 2017
Against Bhuvneshwar this IPL:
MS Dhoni – 3 sixes off 17 balls
All others – 4 sixes off 247 balls#SRHvRPS— Bharath Seervi (@SeerviBharath) May 6, 2017
Ajinkya Rahane this #IPL has been as useless as Avanthika in #BaahubaliTheConclusion #SRHvRPS
— Hariharan Durairaj ??️ (@hariharan_draj) May 6, 2017