SRH vs RR Highlights, IPL 2024: Bhuvneshwar Kumar plucks a wicket on the last ball as SRH win by one run

Right then. Bhuvneshwar Kumar with the ball. Ravichandran Ashwin on the strike. 13 needed off the final six balls. 

And the offie has done his bit, brings Powell back on strike off the very first delivery. Bhuvi does little wrong off the next ball and Rajasthan steal a couple. Sunrisers are missing an extra fielder in the deep owing to slow over rate. And RR use it in their favor. A scoop down fine leg for four. Six needed from three now. Powell pummels one down long off and it's another poor judgement from the SRH fielder in the deep as RR collect two. Four needed from two balls. Powell is unable to connect the next one, steers it down backward square. RR go for two. The throw this time is at the right end but a little too slow and Powell dives in time to avoid a run out. He's taken a bit of a scratch to remember from that. But remember, it ain't over till it's over. Two needed from the last ball. 

Change in the field from SRH. Mid wicket put back in. Bhuvneshwar steams in to bowl the last one and he's got Powell on the pads and the umpire raises his fingers. IT'S OUT! WHAT A FINISH! RR have no reviews left and SRH have the game. The umpires will have a check though. No bat involved, it's hitting the leg stump and SRH have won by just the one run!

Dear me!

Is that the worse possible twist in the tale that could've went against Rajasthan? After Hetmyer, it's Dhruv Jurel who finds the fielder in the deep. Pat Cummins with a cheeky smile on his face. He didn't expect that, did he? Rajasthan are six wickets down with 20 runs still needed off the last 11 balls.

Ravichandran Ashwin the new man in to bat. Just an over ago, as he held his breath off a Rovman Powell four, the offie surely wouldn't have pictured this. He takes a single and hands the strike to Rovman Powell. Surely he does the trick from here. Not that easy a cakewalk though. Three dot balls from Pat Cummins, who uses the two-bouncer rule to perfection. But that final delivery is right where Powell has anticipated. Wide, outside off, planted over extra cover for SIX! 13 needed off the last over.

Nah, you can't pitch slot to Shimron Hetmyer at this stage and then not expect for the ball to be dispatched to Secunderabad. Or atleast that's what Sunil Gavaskar reckons on the comms. A first-ball six to start the 18th over. 21 needed off the last 17 now.

There's a full toss, a possible attempted yorker, from Natarajan later in the over but it works well for SRH as Hetmyer miscues it straight to long on and Marco Jansen holds onto it. RR lose their fifth wicket.

Dhruv Jurel is the new man in. Natarajan nails another dot and wraps the over with just a single. 20 needed off the last two overs.

Rovman Powell joins his fellow West Indies international, Shimron Hetmyer in the middle. Marco Jansen has the ball for his last over of the night. A couple of wides to start the over. Jansen moves to the round the wicket angle against Powell, who rips one down the first-umpire's hat for four. JEEZ, I wouldn't want to stand anywhere near him as he bats. Ravichandran Ashwin in the dugout held his breath for a second. 

It gets better for Rajasthan as Powell goes after a short one from Jansen, an outside edge that runs down short third for FOUR more. 175/4 after 17 overs.

Pat Cummins with a wicket at last!

Fine start to the over, just the three runs off his first four deliveries and he reaps the reward for being economical as Riyan Parag gets underneath a fullish delivery but finds the fielder at long on. Fourth wicket for the Sunrisers and this one seems to be headed right down the wire. 160/4 after 16 overs. 42 needed from the last four.

Tushar Bhaduri: With every run and boundary Yashasvi Jaiswal and Riyan Parag scored, Pat Cummins and Abhishek Sharma would be churning inside. Rajasthan Royals were 1 for 2 after the first over, after Bhuvneshwar Kumar gave Sunrisers Hyderabad the perfect start to the second innings. If Cummins and Abhishek had held on to the relatively catchable chances that came their way, both Jaiswal and Parag would have been back to the dugout inside the Powerplay. Neither youngster gave much chance to the bowlers or fielders thereafter in their 134-run stand. The asking rate was more than 10 runs an over when the chase began, and the two never let it go beyond that. Even after Jaiswal was dismissed, it did nothing to slow Parag down. His full-blooded swing of the bat, against seamers and spinners alike, took the ball over the rope even when it didn't come off the middle of the bat.

That wicket in the last over hasn't fazed Rajasthan at all. Riyan Parag continues to claim maximums. That's two since Jaiswal went back to the dressing room, this one planted over long-on. Shimron Hetmyer is the new man in and smashes one down the ground to collect his first boundary. 150 up for Rajasthan. 157/3 after 15 overs.

You read it here first. Scroll down just a bit. T Natarajan not being saved for late was a fine call by skipper Pat Cummins and it's materialised into a wicket. Angled into the stumps by the left-armer and Yashasvi Jaiswal misses out on a paddle shot down fine leg. The stumps are uprooted and Sunrisers have broken the partnership. But has it come too late? Riyan Parag adds another maximum to his tally, a short ball pulled over mid wicket. After 14 overs, RR are 143/3.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar to Yashasvi Jaiswal. A low full toss and Jaiswal gets down on one knee to swipe it over deep square leg for SIX! What monstrosity is this? Played it as though he had all the time in the world. 

Riyan Parag adds another four to the scoreboard with a cracking boundary through wide long off. 132/2 after 13 overs.

Natarajan brought back into the attack. SRH need to up the required rate here and they've taken one step in the right direction. No need to wait till the final five to bring the designated death bowler into the scheme of things. A couple of tight overs from the left-armers are needed at this juncture and he's given the home team one here. Seven from it. 118/2 after 12 overs.

Yashasvi Jaiswal carves a wide delivery outside the off stump through the covers for four to bring up his half-century.

Riyan Parag finds the gap down deep backward point with a reverse sweep for four to bring up his fifty. This has been one fine partnership and the onus now rests upon SRH to plot a twist. 111/2 after 11 overs.

Marco Jansen into his third over and Riyan Parag welcomes the Proteas back into the attack with successive boundaries. A short and wide delivert slashed over backward point followed by a leg glance. 100 up for the Royals. 102 needed off the next 10.

Pat Cummins back into the attack. Goes short and Riyan Parag goes BIG. An exquisite rock-back-and-pull, 15 rows over the deep mid wicket fence for SIX! This is some excellent batting from the two youngsters. 

The SRH skipper has been struggling with the ball over the past few games. The slower ball execution hasn't been up the mark and the Aussie was seen working on his yorkers in the pre-match warm-up. He falls back to the same delivery against Yashasvi Jaiswal later in the over. For now, RR are in no need of a risk. 90/2 after nine overs.

Nitish Reddy was the star of the night for SRH with the bat. Can he bring some returns with the ball? 

Jaiswal unsettles the 20-year-old by rocking back in his crease and carving a cut shot down short third for four. It's an expensive over, with two wides. A total of 12 runs from the over. 81/2 after eight.

Jaydev Unadkat introduced into the attack. SRH needed to break some of the momentum Rajasthan had created in the powerplay and the left-armer gives them an over without a boundary. Nine from the over. 69/2 after seven.

It's been one of the big reasons behind their success. A number of batters stepping up. With the likes of Jos Buttler and Sanju Samson back in the hut in the first over, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Riyan Parag have shouldered the responsibility seamlessly. It started with Parag thrashing Bhuvneshwar Kumar for three boundaries in the third over before Jaiswal turned aggressor in the next couple of overs and it's back to Parag again. Successive boundaries off T Natarajan. 50 partnership up between these two. End of powerplay, the score reads 60/2.

The skipper brings himself into the attack, an over after he had a horrid moment at mid off, spilling a regulation catch of Yashasvi Jaiswal. Seems like it was the cushion Jaiswal needed early in his innings. He has since pierced five boundaries off 11 deliveries - three of them coming in this over from Cummins. Another 15-run over. 50 up for the Rajasthan Royals.

We don't get to write this that often but Pat Cummins just dropped one that came straight at him. The SRH skipper, stationed at mid on, hardly had to move as Yashasvi Jaiswal clamped Marco Jansen's first delivery straight at him. A lifeline for the southpaw, just the kind of luck RR need right now. He follows up on it with back-to-back boundaries - a pull shot and a slice down deep backward point for four. Rajasthan are 35/2 after four overs.

It's been a nightmarish start for the Rajasthan Royals with two big wickets in the powerplay already. With 202 to be chased, it'll take a big overhaul from one of the batters now. Riyan Parag has done that on more than one occasions this season. He's taken the attack to Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the third over, lacing two fours and a six. 15 from the over. Rajasthan are 21/2 after three overs.

Marco Jansen into the attack

Short ball outside off and Jaiswal slaps it across the line for FOUR. A single to follow. Jansen finishes with a high bumper to the keeper.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar into the attack

Jasiwal opens the account straightaway with a single. Bhuvneshwar to Buttler, OUT! Nicked first ball! Buttler goes hard for a slice and sends the outside-edge straight to first slip. Marco Jansen grabs a fine catch and RR are jolted early in the chase. Sanju Samson is in at 3. Bhuvi slides one in and Samson taps it towards mid-on. Bhuvneshwar attacks the channel outside off and Samson leaves the ball on length. Bhuvneshwar to Samson, OUT! Cleaned him up. A cracking inswinger runs through the gates! Riyan Parag is in at 4. He plays out the ball to mid-on. And Bhuvi caps off a superb first over.

Jos Buttler c Jansen b Kumar 0 (1b); Sanju Samson b Kumar 0 (3b)

Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler walk out for the chase.

Sandeep slides the ball in and Klaasen flicks it behind square for FOUR. Slower-ball on length and Klaasen swats it down the ground for SIX! Two to finish and SRH reach 201 in 20 overs with an excellent recovery.

Boult swings one in and Klaasen drills the ball to long-off for a single. Nitish follows up with another single and Klaasen flays the ball through extra cover for FOUR! Boult strays to the pads with a low full-toss and Klaasen cheekily parries it over short fine-leg for FOUR.

Low full toss and Nitish and reverse-sweeps it down third for FOUR! In the slot and Nitish pumps it over extra cover for SIX. He moves to 74, his highest score in T20s!

A couple of looseners from Chahal and Klaasen smashes back-to-back SIXes! A string of singles to follow as Chahal tightens his lines.

Travis Head's night started with a fielding mishap (when Riyan Parag dropped a sitter first ball) and it should have ended with a fielding brilliance. The SRH opener was lax in getting back to the crease after getting beaten by Avesh Khan and Sanju Samson smartly rolled the ball onto the stumps. It looked out in real-time. It looked out-ER on replays. After asking for repeated zooms, in an explicable decision, TV Umpire Rohan Pandit said Head's bat was grounded. Kumar Sangakkara couldn't believe in the RR dugout. Jos Buttler was signaling for a review of the review (Ashwin would have liked that!). But play carried on. Avesh however would have the wicket against his name instead of a run out, as Head moved over to the offside and played the ball onto the middle stump with expert precision. "Karma strikes," said Sunil Gavaskar on air.

Fifty up for Nitish in 30 deliveries as he taps Ashwin down to long-on for a single. Klaasen finds a run and Nitish smokes Ashwin for another SIX over long-on! Short again and Nitish swivels to smash Ashwin over mid-wicket for another SIX!

Avesh starts with successive wides. Short ball to the hips and Head whips it over square-leg for SIX! Is that OUT? Head misses out on a low full-toss with a faint edge to Samson. He rolls it back to the stumps quickly but Head seems to be short of his crease. The replays are tight but the TV umpire says NOT OUT! That was close. Avesh to Head, OUT! Cleaned him up this time! Head shuffles across for a ramp but Avesh drills the yorker in to uproot the middle-stump. Heinrich Klaasen walks in at 5.

Sandeep Sharma is back

Short ball outside off and Nitish blasts it over extra cover for SIX! He follows it up with a single. Slower-ball outside-off and Head taps it down to long-off for a single.

A floater from Chahal and Nitish charges down the ground and pumps it over long-off for SIX! Wideer delivery outside the off-stump and Nitish lofts it over cover for FOUR. Hetmyer makes ground but that's not quite enough to reach the ball. Chahal follows up with a wide. Nitish attempts a reverse-sweep as Chahal slides it in towards the pad. Loud shout but RR decide against a review. Another loopy delivery from Chahal and Nitish swats it down the ground for another SIX! Length from Chahal and Nitish nails the reverse-sweep for FOUR!

Boult replaces Ashwin. He keeps the ball away from Head's arc but it is deemed a wide by the umpire. Slower-bouncer from Boult and Head smashes it down the ground past mid-off for FOUR. He slides one in to the blockhole and Head flicks it to mid-wicket for a single - FIFTY up for Head in 37 balls.

Avesh returns. A couple of singles to start the over. Avesh goes short and Nitish wallops it over mid-wicket for SIX!

Ashwin strings a couple of dots together. He wafts one in and Nitish pumps it over long-on for SIX! Slightly outside off-stump this time and Nitish dabs it to point for a single and retains strike.

Chahal tosses a couple of deliveries up and Head pumps two successive SIXes down the ground. Chahal drops short to the pads and Head flicks it sharply through square. Jurel gives chase but pulls his hamstring as he crosses the fence. He is limping off the field.

Sandeep Sharma trots into his second over. Rajasthan have pushed the game down to a pace that favors them with the run rate currently at six. A prime reason for that has been this man, introducing his off-pace deliveries early in the game. Another good over from him. 

Every time he does well the pundits and fan calls him underrated. “I don’t know. I have never thought about it,” Sandeep had told The Indian Express last week. After a long pause, he adds: “Kabhi kabhi lagta hai mujhe mera due nahi mila jo milna chahiaye tha (Sometimes I feel like I never got the credit I deserved.” (READ his interview by Pratyush Raj)

Tushar Bhaduri: Sunil Gavaskar was adamant on commentary that a team should start its bowling innings with its best men. And while Rajasthan Royals opening with Trent Boult was a no-brainer, given the propensity of the Kiwi left-armer to get wickets in the first over, giving Ravichandran Ashwin the second one could be described as a left-field move. Sunrisers Hyderabad were coming into the game after two losses in a row and Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma aren't at their best while starting against spin, especially when the ball is turning away from them. And there was some purchase for the veteran Indian off-spinner. Abhishek went down the pitch to him and hit him over the sight-screen without getting to the pitch of the ball, but the two left-handers were tentative against Ashwin otherwise, the ball beating the outside edge and even going over the stumps once. The Aussie opener survived an LBW appeal only on umpire's call and seemed to have little clue. Sunrisers were denied the rollicking start they were after and even lost a couple of wickets due to the pressure put on them. It showed the homework and pre-match preparation the Rajasthan Royals think tank does before every game.

Yuzi Chahal into the attack. Offers enough width to Travis Head and the southpaw fashions a cut shot in front of square, through covers for FOUR.

Barring that, it's another tight over from the top-of-the-table team. 44/2 after seven overs.

Sandeep Sharma into the attack. And that's another first-ball wickets for a new bowler for Rajasthan this evening. Another flick shot, this one a half-hearted attempt from Anmolpreet Singh, that gives the visitors another breakthrough. Probably came a lot slower than what he'd expected. A lovely diving forward catch from Yashasvi Jaiswal. Another brilliant over this for RR. Just the two runs come off it. End of the powerplay and the scoreboard reads, 37/2.

The run rate was clear lower than what SRH had expected it to be. Avesh Khan read the room and sprayed a length ball down Abhishek Sharma's pads. Out comes the flick shot, but it finds the fielder placed at the fence. First wicket for Rajasthan in the powerplay. 

Anmolpreet Singh is the new man in for Hyderabad. A couple of dot balls later, the right-hander gets in on a flick shot down mid wicket for his first runs - four. Head closes the over with another slash through the off side for four. 35/1 after five overs.

Ashwin into his second over. LBW appeal against Travis Head. He's skipped down the track an awful lot. And as the ball tracker shows, it's clipped the top of off, umpire's call saves the Australian. 

A tight second over from the offie. Beats Head on the outside edge again. Just the four runs from the over. This hasn't been the usual batting first outing for SRH this season. After four overs, the home side are 25/0.

Boult continues from the other end. Length ball with the slightest of widths and Head pounces onto it. Clears the front leg before striking it hard through the covers for four. Seven runs from the over. 21/0 after three.

Ravichandran Ashwin from the other end. Tossed up, and Abhishek Sharma dances down the track to give it a whack over the bowler's head for SIX! First of the innings. 

Ashwin then catches the outside edge off Travis Head's willow and it almost carries to him. 14/0 after two overs.

A first ball boundary from Travis Head and SRH are off and running. Uppish but safe. Boult offered him width outside off and Head went for the slash. Wasn't hit right off the middle and it went through the fingertips of Riyan Parag at point. The Kiwi isn't happy. A good comeback from him though as he tightens the line closer to the stumps against the Aussie. Six runs from the first over.

After a couple of failed chases, the Sunrisers Hyderabad are back at doing what they've done best this season. Bat first. Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma had instilled a good amount of fear in the first half of IPL 2024 as SRH mounted three totals in excees of 250. Can they do it against a disciplined RR bowling attack? We'll soon find out as Trent Boult scampers in with the new ball.

Yuzvendra Chahal: We play IPL, domestic cricket to get into the Indian team and that's my biggest achievement. I think I played there (West Indies and USA) last July, but when I was out of the Indian team; I played domestic T20s and cricket keeps going on. SRH are playing well especially all their batters from the top to number 7, it will be a challenge here. I have played 40-45 matches at the Chinnaswamy, so the fear is not there (of getting hit) and if you bowl your best ball, it will be enough for any batter. They say it is a batters game but this is a team game, you reach the top when 7-8 players do well in every game.

SRH: Umran Malik, Mayank Markande, Aiden Markram, Sanvir Singh, Jaydev Unadkat

RR: Jos Buttler, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Shubham Dubey, Navdeep Saini, Tanush Kotian

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Anmolpreet Singh, Heinrich Klaasen(w), Nitish Reddy, Abdul Samad, Shahbaz Ahmed, Marco Jansen, Pat Cummins(c), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T Natarajan

Rajasthan Royals: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson(w/c), Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Rovman Powell, Shimron Hetmyer, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Avesh Khan, Yuzvendra Chahal, Sandeep Sharma

Tanishq Vaddi, from Hyderabad: SRH have not been able to find a new ball partner for Bhuvaneshwar Kumar so far in the tournament. They have tried spinners depending on match ups. However, the inclusion of Marco Jansen could be a ideal for Bhuvi if the ball does swing.

Pat Cummins: We are gonna have a bat. The games we have won, we batted first. That's probably our strength. Looks like a good wicket. (A quick one from the home skipper, but a loud reception from the Hyderabad crowd as he wins the toss)

Sanju Samson: We also wanted to bat looking at the conditions. It does suit the team, we have done both well this season. The momentum is the key in this tournament. Lot of things have been working well. To recognise what is working well, we just want to stick with that.

Pat Cummins wins the toss, SRH opt to bat first.

Tanishq Vaddi, from Hyderabad: Unlike the previous warmup sessions ahead of the games, SRH today has placed a cone in front of the stumps, and Pat Cummins is seen trying to hit that cone and practicing his yorkers. 

In the last couple of games the slower bowler tactic had worked for Unadkat but the batters got the measure of the skipper.

Graeme Smith and Sunil Gavaskar: "It's a lovely evening, it's not too hot, it's not too sweaty, very good to play cricket. Dimensions - 61m and 64m square, pockets - around 70m, behind square - only 60m, straight down the ground - 73m. This is such a good pitch to bat on. There's going to be very little help for the spinners. The quicker bowlers, because it's a harder pitch, might be able to get a little more carry but this is a pitch where you can expect a lot of runs. What we have seen from the Hyderabad team is they have taken the initiative just about every time from the first ball. If they get going, this is their home pitch, if they bat first, you can be pretty certain that you'll get a score of 250 unless Rajasthan Royals pull out some magic tricks. This is a fresh pitch, never been used before."

This is Harpreet Brar’s sixth season with the Punjab Kings and in the handful of games, he has played he has had a few memorable moments, like smoking Kagiso Rabada for a six — which prompted an excited Danny Morrison to remark on air “Keep that Canadian visa in your bag young man.” The most memorable one was taking the wickets of Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, and AB de Villiers in one spell in 2021. (READ MORE)

In Mumbai, Rohit Sharma and Ajit Agarkar's press conference has concluded. Here are some of the talking points: 

-"Dropping Rinku Singh the toughest thing we had to decide. It’s not his fault, or it’s not anything that he has done wrong or Shubman (Gill) for that matter. But we wanted as many options as possible in the squad. We felt that another extra bowling option in the squad would come in handy.”

-"Hardik has come after a longish layoff. He has gotten through all the games for MI and we have got another month and a little bit till we play our first game. Hope is he building on that form. There's no replacement for what he brings to the team, especially with the ball. His fitness is critical and so far he has gone well in the IPL."

-"Virat Kohli's strike rate? We haven’t been discussing it. He has been in great form in IPL. No concerns there at at all."

-"Washy (Washington Sundar) hasn’t played a lot lately. It was then between Ash and Axar. It was like that, we thought having 2 left arm spinners – Ash hasn’t played the format lately. Axar was in good form when he played those 5 matches against Australia (November 2023). He has been bowling well and gives us that left handed option in the middle if we want to do something different."

-"You try and plan before IPL starts. We had conversations in the last few months anywa. You keep a track of performances and fitness of players but if you get swayed by 3 months of cricket then there’s something wreong in the way you pick players. We were pretty clear in our thinking."

SRH: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Nitish Reddy, Abdul Samad, Shahbaz Ahmed, Pat Cummins (c), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, T Natarajan.

RR: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Avesh Khan, Sandeep Sharma, Yuzvendra Chahal

Few bowling units would not dread a line-up that wields the destructive capabilities of Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Aiden Markram and Heinrich Klaasen. After racking up two scores in excess of 250 in the tournament so far — with the two highest totals in Indian Premier League history — there is a bubbling buzz around them. (READ MORE)

Punjab Kings registered a seven-wicket win against the Chennai Super Kings on Wednesday at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. It was the fourth win for the 2014 finalists this season, taking them a spot above from eighth to seventh, toppling Gujarat Titans. (MORE HERE)

There were no changes to the top-five wicket takers tally of IPL 2024 after the CSK vs PBKS match on Wednesday. Mumbai Indians’ pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah remained top of the tally with 14 scalps from 10 games. (MORE HERE)