Parag, Tewatia pull off heist as Rajasthan keep semis hopes alive with thrilling win

Mohammad Abdullah, Staff Reporter

Rahul Tewatia and Riyan Parag staged a valiant fight-back, inspiring Rajasthan Royals (RR) to a come-from-behind five-wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match in Dubai on Sunday.

The duo shared an unbroken 85-run stand for the sixth wicket as Rajasthan pulled off a thrilling win with one ball to spare.

Rajasthan still needed 80 runs in 7.3 overs with the last recognised batting pair on the crease. Both the batsmen Parag and Tewatia knuckled down to repair the damage and bring their innings back on the track.

In the 18th over, Tewatia flexed his muscles and went after Rashid Khan, hitting three fours as he got a reprieve in the same over. He survived a stumping as the bails were not dislodged after the ball bounced back off Jonny Bairstow’s feet and hit the stumps.

Rajasthan needed 24 runs from the last two overs and Tewatia hit a four and a six, collecting a total of 16 runs to bring the equation down to eight needed off the last over. In the end, Rajasthan needed two runs off two balls, Parag finished the match with a six to give Rajasthan their third win of the season.

Earlier, Rajasthan, who were playing for the first time with a full-strength squad after the return of England all-rounder Ben Stokes, once again got off to a faltering start in their chase. They opted to open the innings with Stokes, who was playing his first game of the season after serving the mandatory quarantine, and Jos Buttler.

Khaleel Ahmed struck in the second over to get rid of Stokes, who hit a four in the first over. He dragged Ahmed’s delivery back onto the stumps.

Hyderabad maintained a tight lines to keep Rajasthan under check, giving away only 140 runs in the first three overs.

 Buttler hit a four and a six in the fourth over to take the pressure off but Rajasthan lost the wicket of captain Steve Smith in the same over, through a runout. They were reeling under pressure with the top two batsmen back into the pavilion. They needed someone to play a big knock to revive the stuttering innings.

But as luck would have it, Ahmed struck again to derail the chase with the important wicket of Buttler in the next over as Bairstow held a good low catch.

Robin Uthappa and Sanju Samson added 37 runs to take Rajasthan to 60 before Rashid Khan broke the dangerous-looking partnership in the 10th over by trapping Uthappa before the wickets.

The wily Afghan spinner picked his second wicket of the match as he had Samson caught behind the wickets to make it 578.

Meanwhile, bowling first, Rajasthan did not allow Hyderabad openers – David Warner and Bairstow – open their arms as they conceded just six runs from the first three overs. Rajasthan dismissed Bairstow in the fifth over for their first success. The right-hander wanted to slog but was caught by Samson as Kartik Tyagi gave Rajasthan their first breakthrough.