Rajasthan Royals were able to hang on in the ongoing Indian Premier League after winning the 45th match of the season against Sunrisers Hyderabad. The hosts won the match by convincingly by seven wickets with five balls to spare. Furthermore, Royals were able to displace Kolkata Knight Riders from the sixth position. Rajasthan Royals skipper Steven Smith believes there is still a slim chance that his team can qualify for the last four of the tournament.
Meanwhile, Rajasthan Royals did a fine job in their bowling innings. At one stage, Sunrisers Hyderabad was looking good to post a par score. However, the host’s bowlers were able to pull back things and bowled with resilience.
Royals hang on by a thin thread.
Jaydev Unadkat was the pick of the Rajasthan Royals bowlers as he scalped two wickets and conceded 26 runs in his four overs quota. Furthermore, Jaydev Unadkat was superb in the field as he took three catches, which includes a one-handed stunner of his own bowling.
Furthermore, only 39 runs were only scored off the last five overs and SRH lost five wickets. Hence, they could not add the finishing touches to their innings.
Meanwhile, the next match is going to be last for Smith in the ongoing edition.
Steven Smith said while talking to host broadcaster in the post-match presentation, “Hopefully my arm is ok, it hurt initially because of the impact. It was a good end to our home season, the boys pulled things back nicely. Liam Livingstone was magnificent as he played with freedom and got us off to a good start. Samson finished things off nicely. Playing together as a group and we’re winning those key moments. We have been fortunate in the last few games. We need to continue winning and you never know. I have got one more to play in Bangalore, it’ll be nice to finish on a winning note. Hopefully, the boys will play well in Bangalore as well.
On the other hand, Rajasthan Royals openers Ajinkya Rahane and Sanju Samson gave a perfect start to their run chase. Rahane and Liam Livingstone added a fine alliance of 78 runs for the opening stand. Subsequently, Sanju Samson scored a sublime undefeated knock of 48 runs from 32 balls.
Meanwhile, Rajasthan Royals will play their next match against Royal Challengers Bangalore at Bangalore on 30th April.