Credit: IPL
On May 2, 2024, Sunriser Hyderabad (SRH) held their nerve and clinched a one-run victory against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 game played at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hydearbad. Batting first after winning the toss, Sunrisers posted 201 runs on the board. After the early departure of top-order batters Abhishek Sharma and Anmolpreet Singh, Travis Head and Nitish Kumar Reddy stood in the middle and stitched a crucial 96-run stand for the third wicket off just 58 balls. The Aussie fell against Avesh Khan in the 15th over of the match after scoring 58 off 44.
Reddy remained at the crease until the end of the innings and notched up an unbeaten 76 off just 42. His knock was studded with 11 boundaries (three fours and eight maximums). In the death overs, Heinrich Klaasen also produced some brilliant strokes from his bat and struck an unbeaten 42 off 19. SRH got a total of 201/3 on the board eventually.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s three-wicket haul powers SRH to one-run win
In the second innings, Bhuvneshwar Kumar stepped up and delivered a couple of blows to Rajasthan. The veteran pacer got the better of Jos Buttler and RR skipper Sanju Samson in the first over. However, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Riyan Parag didn’t lose hope and built a 134-run partnership for the third wicket to bring Royals back into the contest.
Jaiswal lost his battle to T Natarajan in the 14th over and went back to the dugout after hitting 67 runs off 40 balls. Parag also followed the Southpaw to the pavilion after losing his wicket to SRH skipper Pat Cummins. The youngster amassed 77 off 49. In the final overs of the innings, Rovman Powell showcased his gallant side and played a swift innings of 27 off 15.
Bowling the last over, Bhuvneshwar held his nerve and defended 12 runs for his team successfully. On the final delivery of the match, the speedster displayed his astute side and trapped Powell before the wickets to help Sunrisers emerge victorious. He ended his spell with 3/41 figures and got the player of the match (POTM) award.
