Deshpande's brilliant final act ensures thrilling win for RR over GT
Tushar Deshpande bowled a magnificent final over by landing six consecutive deliveries on either blockhole or wide yorker length in an exhibition of high-class bowling as Rajasthan Royals edged out Gujarat Titans by six runs in an IPL humdinger here on Saturday.
This was Royals' second successive win in the tournament while the Ashish Nehra coached GT team has now lost two matches in a row.
Riding on half-centuries from Dhruv Jurel (75 off 42 balls) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (55 off 36 balls), Royals scored 210 for 6 in their 20 overs.
Despite Sai Sudharsan's 73 which oozed class, GT were staring down the barrel at 161 for 7 before Kagiso Rabada (23 not out) and stand-in skipper Rashid Khan (24) took the team close to a win with 10 needed off the final over.
But Deshpande had other ideas as he started the final over with a wide but then was on target with three singles and a wide fuller delivery that Rashid conceded a dot. In the end, only four runs were scored and the Titans would feel that they let it slip big time after a solid opening stand.
With Shubman Gill absent due to spasms, Sai Sudharsan (73 off 44 balls) had a new partner in debutant Kumar Kushagra (18 off 14 balls) but it was the Tamil Nadu man who did bulk of the scoring in the 78-run opening stand.
When it came to sheer elegance and grace, Sudharsan hardly has any peers among the new breed of T20 batters.
Even the sixes that he hit -- three apart from nine boundaries --, seemed like caressed through the orbit. For Kushagra, it was about playing the second fiddle.
However once Sudharsan was snapped by Bishnoi with a half-tracker, suddenly, GT lost track with the leg-spinner tormenting them with altered length and variations.
From 107 for 1, suddenly, they were reeling at 133 for 5 and subsequently became 161 for 7 with all recognised batters back in the hut.
However, Rabada and Rashid had other ideas as they launched brutal yet swift counter-attack which wasn't enough in the end. Earlier, Jurel beautifully merged aggression and discretion in his 42-ball 75 to guide Rajasthan Royals to a challenging 210 for 6 after opting to bat.
In the RR innings, Jaiswal looked like getting back into the groove with a 55 off 36 balls after 'Boy Wonder' Sooryavanshi smashed 18-ball 31 in an opening stand of 70 in just 6.2 overs.
Jurel seemed settled in his new role as No. 3 and showed that there is place for conventional shots and yet can strike at more than 150.
The pick-up pulls off Ashok Sharma after completing his fifty was a delight -- a testimony to his strong core and good hands. He hit five maximums and an equal number of boundaries.
For Gujarat Titans, Ashok Sharma (1/37 in 4 overs), in only his second IPL game, emerged as the 'Next big pace hope' having clocked 154.2 clicks and consistently bowling northwards of 145 kmph.
