Opener Jason Roy and skipper Kane Williamson struck confident half-centuries to shape Sunrisers Hyderbad’s comfortable seven-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals as IPL Play-offs calculations got a bit more complicated. Opting to bat, the Royals scored 164 for six on the back of a well calculated 82-run knock by skipper Sanju Samson on a sticky wicket where stroke-making was difficult. However, the score proved insufficient as Roy (60 off 42) and Williamson (51 not out) led the team to their only second win of the season. The loss has dented the Royals’ playoff chances as they remained at the sixth spot with eight points while Sunrisers, who have been ruled out for the playoffs, remained at the bottom of the table.
Now four teams - Kolkata Knight Riders, Punjab Kings, Royals and Mumbai Indians - are tied on eight points each and all are alive in the play-offs race in which CSK and Delhi Capitals are firm favourites for the top two places with 16 points each.
Jadeja takes CSK across finishing line
Ravindra Jadeja on Sunday showed that he aspires to be MS Dhoni’s successor at Chennai Super Kings. He did what Dhoni used to do for years – rising at the death – as CSK notched up a last-ball win to go back on top of the IPL table. With 26 to get off the last two, the ‘finisher’ smashed an 8-ball 22 that took CSK home. Jadeja was dismissed off the fifth ball of the last over, and with one to get off the last ball, Deepak Chahar did the needful with the bat. While Jadeja was brilliant in the 19th over, he was presented a chance to be so by KKR captain Eoin Morgan. The Knights captain strangely asked young pacer Prasidh Krishna to bowl the 19th over instead of Narine on a pitch where the ball wasn’t coming on to the bat. Jadeja was ready to pounce on the gift and fed off the inexperience of the Karnataka paceman to take 22 in that over.
Harshal does it for RCB, again
Harshal Patel is fast turning out to be Mumbai Indians’ nemisis. He’s a bowler Mumbai won’t forget in a hurry. For the second time this season, the seamer (4/17) turned out to be the game changer for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Mumbai. In the first leg of the competition in India, Harshal had returned 5/27 against the defending champions. On Sunday night at the Dubai International Stadium, the 30-year-old from Haryana turned up the heat with an awe-inspiring hat-trick, the third by an RCB bowler, to propel his team to a comprehensive 54-run win. Chasing RCB’s 165/6, Mumbai Indians were bowled out for a paltry 111 in 18.1 overs. Skipper Virat Kohli would be a pleased man with his bowling unit, which put the team back on track and dealt a telling blow to Mumbai’s march into the playoffs.
Bowlers script victory for Delhi Capitals
Delhi Capitals bowlers made up for the team’s underwhelming display with the bat to hand Rajasthan Royals a 33-run defeat in their IPL match on Saturday. The Capitals bowling unit restricted the Royals to 121 for six after the team put on board 154 for six on the back of Shreyas Iyer’s 43 and a late flourish provided by Shimron Hetmyer, who scored 28 runs off 16 balls. Rajasthan skipper Sanju Samson looked in sublime touch, scoring an unbeaten 70, but with wickets tumbling at regular intervals from the other end, the Royals innings failed to get the momentum it needed. South African pacer Anrich Nortje (2/18) led the Delhi bowlers who performed as a cohesive unit. Avesh Khan (1/29), Kagiso Rabada (1/26), Axar Patel (1/27), Ravichandran Ashwin (1/20) snapped a wicket each. With the win the Capitals returned to the top of the table while the Royals moved down to the sixth spot.
Kolkata beat Mumbai to enter top four
Rookie Venkatesh Iyer left many in awe of his talent as Kolkata Knight Riders produced a clinical performance for the second successive game since IPL’s resumption to tame the mighty Mumbai Indians by seven wickets and enter the top-four in the points table on Thursday. Iyer (53 off 30), playing his second IPL game, displayed the wide range of his strokes alongside Rahul Tripathi (74 not out off 42) to enable KKR to chase MI’s modest total of 155 for six with as many as 29 balls to spare. Quinton de Kock struck an entertaining 55 for MI before KKR bowlers bounced back in the last 10 overs, conceding 75 runs and taking five wickets. Shubman Gill and Iyer gave KKR another flying start with the first two overs bowled by Trent Boult and Adam Milne going for 15 runs each. Gill flicked Boult for a delightful six while Iyer pulled the New Zealand pace spearhead to set the tone for the rest of the innings. While Jasprit Bumrah found Gill’s stumps in the third over, Iyer went on to play a memorable knock comprising four boundaries and three sixes. Iyer and Tripathi shared an 88-run stand for the second wicket which completely shut the door on MI, who suffered their second loss since IPL’s resumption.
