Abdul Samad smashed a six off the last ball as Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Rajasthan Royals by four wickets to keep their playoff hopes alive in a high-scoring IPL thriller here on Sunday.
Riding on aggressive fifties by Jos Buttler (95) and Sanju Samson (66), Rajasthan Royals posted a challenging 214 for two after winning the toss and electing to bat. The SRH bowlers looked clueless throughout the innings with all of them bleeding runs.
The Royals made a rollicking start, reaching 61 for one at the end of powerplay, thanks to a quickfire 35 off just 18 balls from the talented Jaiswal who continued his fine form this season to reach 1000 IPL runs.
After a 54-run opening stand with Yashasvi Jaiswal (35), Buttler (95 off 59 balls) stitched another 138 runs with Samson (66 not out) in 13.3 overs to steer the Royals to a big total after opting to bat.
In response, Abhishek Sharma (55), Rahul Tripathi (47) kept them in the hunt before Yuzvendra Chahal (4/29) snapped four wickets to almost derail their
chase.
A cameo from Glenn Phillips (25) reignited the chase as Abdul Samad's (17 not out off 7 balls) knocked off the winning runs with a six in the last ball following a no-ball from Sandeep Sharma.
For Sunrisers, Bhuvneshwar Kumar (1/44) and Marco Jansen (1/44) took one wicket each.
Brief scores:
Rajasthan Royals: 214 for 2 in 20 overs (Jos Buttler 95, Sanju Samson 66 not out; Bhuvneshwar Kumar 1/44).
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 217 for 6 in 20 overs (Abhishek Sharma 55; Yuzvendra Chahal 4/29).