IPL 2023: Rajasthan Royals vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, Match 52 - Talking Points and Who Said What?

Aiden Markram-led Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) emerged victorious from the jaws of defeat, courtesy of a last-ball thriller against Rajasthan Royals (RR). In doing so, SRH won the contest by four wickets at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, in Jaipur, in match 52 of the IPL 2023 on Sunday.

The runners-up of the 2022 season put up a humongous first innings score of 214 runs, thanks to majestic knocks by the skipper, Sanju Samson, and Jos Buttler. However, SRH proved their mettle in the chase and clinched the two points in a thrilling affair in Jaipur.

Here are the Talking Points from the RR vs SRH clash-

Buttler-Samson combine to post a ‘Royal’ first innings total

Jos Buttler began his innings delicately as he kept the scoreboard ticking, whereas his partner and the opener, Yashasvi Jaiswal, swiftly hit the ground running to score 35 off 18 balls. However, following his dismissal, the likes of Buttler and skipper Samson took the onus to get the vital runs and inject momentum in the innings. The pair raised a crucial 138-run stand to steer the Royals to a humongous first-innings score of 214 runs. While Buttler scored his fourth fifty of the season and concluded with 95 off 59 balls, Samson remained unbeaten in his brilliant knock of 66 runs off 38 balls.

Abhishek and Tripathi contribute instrumental knocks during the run chase 

During the chase, openers Anmolpreet Singh and Abhishek Sharma got 51 runs for the first wicket to lay down a solid foundation. Following Anmolpreet’s (33 off 25 balls) dismissal, Abhishek and Rahul Tripathi stitched a vital 65-run stand, as the former got 55 runs off 34 balls with five boundaries and two maximums. Following his dismissal, Tripathi continued to get the big runs and notched up 47 runs off 29 balls before he was sent packing by Yuzvendra Chahal.

Glenn Phillips’ blazing cameo and final-ball thriller feat Abdul Samad

Rajasthan clawed their way back into the contest with Chahal striking quick blows in the form of Heinrich Klaasen and SRH skipper Aiden Markram’s dismissals. Just when the game seemed to be turning on its head, in came Glenn Phillips, who took mere six balls to revive the chase for the Sunrisers. The batter slammed three sixes on the trot and concluded with 25 off seven balls at an emphatic strike rate of 357.14. 

However, as the match went down the wire, seasoned pacer Sandeep Sharma was on course to defend five off the last ball. Up against Abdul Samad, Sandeep bowled the ‘perfect’ ball to dismiss the former. However, in an interesting twist in the tale, the umpire called it a no-ball for overstepping. In the second attempt, now requiring four off the final ball, Samad hammered a maximum to snatch the game from the Royals.

Losing skipper Sanju Samson said: 

"Matches like this make IPL special. You can never never feel you have won the game until you have won it. I was confident in Sandeep, but that no-ball... They batted sensibly, and credit has to go to them the way they batted. Life is never easy playing this format in this tournament. You have to be at your best each and every game. We will come back and do it all over again.

Winning skipper Aiden Markram said:

The emotions changed quite quickly. Nice for us to get over the line. Everyone contributed. We knew on a quick outfield like this we could catch up. Abhishek got off to a great start, Tripathi kept the momentum going, and you only need a few cameos after that. I wish I could answer how Phillips and Samad do what they did.

Player of the Match Glenn Phillips said: 

It was a situation where it can go only one of two ways. At the end of the day, we are trying to do a job. On another day I might not get that. At the end of the day, that ball that I got out to was the one I should have hit the most. I was disappointed that I didn't hit the actual slot ball. Thankfully Samad finished it off, and we were also lucky with the no-ball.