Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) stunned the table toppers Rajasthan Royals (RR) in a thrilling encounter of the IPL 2024 on May 2. This match was played at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.
Pat Cummins, the home side captain won the toss and chose to bat first. SRH was reduced to 35/2, but then Travis Head (58) and Nitish Kumar Reddy contributed 96 runs for the third wicket to dig SRH out of trouble.
Nitish Reddy changed gears in the last few overs and scored 76* in 42 balls, including three fours and eight sixes. He got help from Heinrich Klaasen, who contributed 42* in 19 balls with 3 fours and 3 sixes as SRH posted 201/3 in 20 overs.
In reply, Bhuvneshwar Kumar bossed the RR batters as he removed in-form Jos Buttler and Sanju Samson for a duck in the first over itself. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Riyan Parag got together and added 134 runs in 78 balls for the third wicket.
Jaiswal made a brilliant 67 in 40 with 7 fours and 2 sixes, while Parag hammered 77 in 49 balls with 8 fours and 4 sixes. Shimron Hetmyer also made 13 but was dismissed off a poor shot. This gave SRH something to hold on to and they made their way back in the game.
Rovman Powell tried his best with 27 in 15 balls, but Bhuvneshwar Kumar showed nerves of steel to defend 13 runs successfully in the final over and gave SRH a 1-run win, by dismissing Powell LBW. RR finished on 200/7, as Bhuvneshwar Kumar got the Player of the Match for his 3/41.
With this win, SRH moved to the 4th spot on the IPL 2024 points table, while RR remained at the top of the ladder.
The cricket fraternity could barely take a breath after watching such a nail-biter and shared their reactions on social media.
Here are the tweets:
