IPL 2019: Twitter erupts as Sunrisers chase down 199 against Rajasthan

Rajasthan Royals came to Hyderabad in search of their first win but even 198 runs were not enough for them. A blazing start by David Warner and Jonny Bairstow was followed by Vijay Shankar and in the end, Sunrisers chased down the total in 19 overs.

Rajasthan Royals won the toss and chose to bat first at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. Rashid Khan sent back the dangerous Jos Buttler for a paltry score of 5 but Ajinkya Rahane and Sanju Samson steadied the innings for Rajasthan.

In the powerplay, Rajasthan managed to score just 35 runs but what followed next justified RR's choice to bat first. In the next 16 overs, Rajasthan scored at least one boundary in 14 overs.

For the second wicket, the duo added 119 runs before Rahane departed for 70 runs off 49 balls. Even the skipper's departure did not stop Snaju Samson from scoring runs at a quick pace.

In the last four overs, Samson, with the aid of Ben Stokes, scored 59 runs in the last three overs. While Sandeep Sharma gave away 13 runs in the penultimate over, Bhuvneshwar Kumar was smashed for 45 runs in the remaining two overs.

The highlight of RR's innings was Samson's century en route which he scored 24 runs against Bhuvneshwar Kumar's 18th over. As a result of Sanju Samson's fine innings, Rajasthan went onto score 198 in 20 overs.

Chasing down a target close to 200 is tough ask for any team but not for this Hyderabad based franchise. The Sunrisers openers - David Warner and Jonny Bairstow - gave their team a blazing start. For the first wicket, the duo added 110 runs in less than 10 overs.

During this partnership, Warner took the early lead but Bairstow too scored boundaries at will. While Warner got out in the 10th over after scoring 69 off 37 balls, Bairstow got out in the 11th over after scoring 45 off 28 balls.

The departure of the two set batsmen in quick succession did not reduce the scoring rate as Vijay Shankar, who scored 35 off just 15 balls, took the attack to Rajasthan bowlers. Just when it looked like SRH will win the match easily, RR dismissed Kane Williamson, Vijay Shankar, and Manish Pandey in the span of 7 balls.

The quick wickets increased the hope of Rajasthan Royals but Yusuf Pathan and Rashid Khan did not allow the opposition to get into the game. Both Pathan and Rashid hit sixes off the bowling of Jofra Archer and helped their side win the match by 5 wickets with an over to spare.

Here's how Twitter reacted to Sunrisers' first win of the tournament.

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Surely, should go down as one of the best chases. The intent from Warner from ball one was scary.

— Nikhil 🏏 (@CricCrazyNIKS) March 29, 2019

David 'The Bull' Warner living up to his name in that Powerplay. That was futuristic batting. Stand and deliver, baseball-style hitting. Solid base, still head, huge power. #IPL #SRHvRR

— Freddie Wilde (@fwildecricket) March 29, 2019

Now that David Warner is back from the dead, SRH has both Undertaker & Kane.#SRHvRR

— Shridhar V (@iimcomic) March 29, 2019

This just shows how bad the ban had hit Warner and how desperately he wants his place for the WC. This is a big statement. This is what he was thinking to do the whole year and boy what a way to do it. Bang. #SRHvRR

— amit (@amitchavhan18) March 29, 2019

Warner should bat at number four for India

— Absy (@absycric) March 29, 2019

Lord Shankar just smashed Karthik and Rayudu's WC spots into the stands.

— Ro✨ (@lndianCaptain) March 29, 2019

SRH doing a good thing for India, playing Vijay Shankar at number four.

— Johns (@CricCrazyJohns) March 29, 2019

Becoming a bigger fan of Vijay Shankar with every game.

— Saurabh Malhotra (@MalhotraSaurabh) March 29, 2019

SRH is like middle child, Kitna bhi accha kar le attention bade CSK aur Chote RCB ko hi milta hai..#SRHvRR

— RomZeeee (@RomanaRaza) March 29, 2019

Wo naam Sanju raha toh aatank machaana zaruri hai kya? #SRHvRR #SanjuSamson pic.twitter.com/3YxjLisKYf

— Sagar (@sagarcasm) March 29, 2019

annual reminder of just how delicious sanju samson's strokeplay can be #SRHvRR

— Gaurav Kalra (@gauravkalra75) March 29, 2019

Samson has played the field brilliantly today. He hit up and over the ring with aplomb early on and opened the face through cover point expertly as his innings progressed. Samson doesn't rely on power; just surgical precision and placement. Wonderful batting. #IPL #SRHvRR

— Freddie Wilde (@fwildecricket) March 29, 2019

Kumar might bowl himself out of death bowling in IPL. He is bowling length. Just not learning.

— Nikhil 🏏 (@CricCrazyNIKS) March 29, 2019

Bumrah then, Bhuvneshwar now.Pant then, Sanju Samson now.The youngsters are literally bashing the worlds best bowlers 👏🏻Way to goo, young guns 🔥#SRHvRR

— Prajakta Bhawsar (@18prajakta) March 29, 2019