Rising Pune Supergiant hosted Sunrisers Hyderabad in the 24th match of the season and the game turned out to be a thriller. The visitors were invited to bat first by RPS and they scored 176/3 in their 20 overs courtesy a brilliant 55 from Moises Henriques.
RPS didn’t have a good start when Rahane was dismissed early but Tripathi kept them in the hunt with a half-century. However, a few quick wickets pegged them back and the required run rate started creeping up.
But MS Dhoni was at the crease and when that happens, no match is over until the last ball is bowled. He played a magnificent knock of 61 and took his team past the line in a typical Dhoni style. The result was decided off the last ball when he hit a four off the last and scripted a win by 6 wickets for RPS.
Let’s take a look at the player ratings from both teams:
Sunrisers Hyderabad
David Warner – 7/10
The skipper began cautiously and didn’t hit a single boundary until the 6th over. He was struggling to time the ball with the orthodox strokes and so he was trying to be innovative. He was dropped by his counterpart Smith at 26 but his innings just didn’t flourish and went back for 43 off 40 balls in the 17th over.
Shikhar Dhawan – 6/10
The opener started off with a boundary in the first over but went on the defensive and looked to turn the strike over. He somehow wasn’t able to find his touch and played many dot balls. He did strike five boundaries in his innings of 30 off 29 balls but lost his wicket to Tahir in the 9th over in a bid to clear the deep mid-wicket boundary.
Kane Williamson – 5/10
The in-form Kiwi batsman was up and running once more and looked like getting another big score. He hit a six and a cracking boundary off Stokes but was trapped in front by Christian when he started to get into his groove. He made 21 off 14 balls and was the second wicket to fall in the innings.
Moises Henriques – 8.5/10
The Australian walked into bat in the 13th over at the fall of Williamson when the score was languishing at 84/2. It required a special innings to give the score to something respectable. And Henriques came good at the right time as he scored an unbeaten 55 off 28 balls with six fours and two sixes that enabled SRH to reach 176 at the end of 20 overs. During RPS innings, he bowled a solitary over and went for just 4 runs.
Deepak Hooda – 6/10
With just 21 balls to play, Hooda came at the crease and he played a superb cameo of 19 off just 10 balls which included two fours and a gigantic six. He added 47 runs alongside Henriques off the last 21 balls and provided the much-needed momentum.
Rashid Khan – 7.5/10
The form of the Afghan leg-spinner just went from good to better as he ended with figures of 17/1 in 4 overs. First, he bagged the prized scalp of Smith courtesy an excellent googly and then inflicted the run out of a dangerous looking Tripathi with a direct hit that put RPS on the back foot. But he made a blunder in the final over of the RPS innings when he dropped Tiwary on the first ball that cost them the match.
Bipul Sharma – 6.5/10
The left-arm spinner struck in his second over when Rahane tried to loft him over the top and only managed to hit it as far as the mid-on fielder. After three overs, he had figures of 1/15 but Smith went after him in the last over that hampered his figures as he finished at 1/30 at the end of his quota of four.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar – 5/10
The Indian pacer began well as usual and came back during the end overs to remove Stokes. With one over to go, his figures stood at 1/20 as he came on to bowl the penultimate over. Dhoni was in full flow and collected 19 runs off his final over with two fours and a six and the bowler ended with 1/39 in four overs.
Mohammed Siraj – 4/10
The youngster took a beating at the hands of the RPS batsmen and his figures read 0/42 in four overs. He was up against Dhoni while bowling his final over and the former Indian skipper smacked him for four fours and a six, collecting 17 runs off his final six deliveries.
Siddarth Kaul – 3.5/10
Kaul had a horrible day in the field as there was no reprieve from the batsmen each time he came on to bowl. His first over went for 18, second for 14 and the last one for 13. He had the responsibility to defend 11 runs in the last over but the might of Dhoni didn’t let him do that. His figures suffered to 0/45 in three overs and turned out to be the costliest bowler of the match.
Naman Ojha – N/A
The wicket-keeper didn’t get a chance to bat and also didn’t have much to do behind the wicket and hence is not applicable for a rating.
Rising Pune Supergiant
Ajinkya Rahane – 3/10
It just wasn’t the day for the Indian international as he could score only two runs off seven balls. The timing wasn’t there and he found himself on just 2 after 6 deliveries. That is when he tried to break the shackles, which resulted in a mistimed hit which landed into the hands of the mid-on fielder off Bipul Sharma in the 3rd over.
Rahul Tripathi – 8/10
When Rahane didn’t deliver, Rahul stood up and played a wonderful innings of 59 off just 41 balls that had six fours and three sixes. He was keeping the hopes of RPS alive with some lusty blows but in the 14th over, a confusion in running between the wickets with Dhoni led to his downfall.
Steven Smith – 6/10
The in-form Australian began with a lovely shot down the ground off Bipul Sharma. When the same bowler was on again, he slammed him for two consecutive sixes. But when he reached 27 off 20, his stay at the crease was curtailed by Rashid Khan in the 11th over.
MS Dhoni – 9.5/10
There was much pressure on the big man to deliver as he had so far only delivered a string of low scores. He finally answered the critics with what he is best known for. His knock of 61 from 34 was studded with five fours and three sixes that brought the side home. He guided the chase beautifully and stayed till the end and finished the game with a boundary when 2 runs were required off the last ball.
Ben Stokes – 4/10
The English all-rounder once more failed to live up to the expectations and failed with both bat and bowl. Initially, he went for 19 runs in 2 overs and then managed only 10 runs with the bat off 9 balls.
Daniel Christian – 7/10
Manoj Tiwary – 7/10
Tiwary found himself at the crease when Stokes was dismissed in the 17th over and RPS still needed 56 runs off 23 balls. The right-hander played a cameo of 17 off 8 balls under pressure with three boundaries and played the perfect second fiddle for Dhoni who was batting brilliantly at the other end.
Washington Sundar – 6.5/10
The 17-year-old off-spinner had his dream turned into reality when he was picked in the RPS playing XI for his first game in IPL. He was into the action in just the second over and went for five runs. He bowled two more overs in the innings and finished with figures of 0/19. Although he didn’t get a wicket, he proved to be economical.
Shardul Thakur – 3.5/10
The Indian pacer had a terrible outing and went for plenty. He gave away 11, 12, 12 and 15 runs in his four overs – ending with a figure of 0/50. He was not able to hit the right lines and lengths and the SRH batsmen extracted the most out of that.
Imran Tahir – 6/10
The leggie picked up a wicket off the first ball he bowled in the form of Dhawan and he was ecstatic as usual. He, however, didn’t find any further success and ended with figures of 1/23 in 3 overs and wasn’t allowed to complete his full quota of overs after he was taken for 16 in his third over.
Jaydev Unadkat – 4.5/10
The left-hander was under the hammer throughout the SRH innings and went for 41 runs in his four overs. He gave away 15 runs in his first 2 overs in the powerplay. The sole bright spot for him arrived when he bowled Warner in his third but even that went for 12 runs. His last six deliveries went for 15 runs that included 2 massive sixes.
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