Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], May 3 : Despite a defeat, Rajasthan Royals (RR) captain Sanju Samson hailed the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) bowlers for managing to keep the scoring rate at 10 runs an over till the very final over and credit to RR youngsters Yashasvi Jaiswal and Riyan Parag for playing so well.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar held on to his nerves to seal a 1-run win for Sunrisers Hyderabad against Rajasthan Royals on Thursday in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. SRH defied the odds and got across the finishing line from the point when defeat stood out as the most likely result for the hosts.
Samson said that RR played a few close games this season and has been on the winning side but this time opposition managed to keep the scoring rate at 10 which played a big part in their victory.
"We have played some really close games this season, won a couple of them and lost this one. Credit to the SRH bowlers for the way they fought back. The margin of error is very low in the IPL. The game is never done till it is done," Samson said in a post-match presentation.
The RR captain said that they had some quality finishers but couldn't get the win and reckoned that it was tough to bat against the new ball. Samson also credited youngsters Yashasvi Jaiswal and Riyan Parag for playing so well as the RR skipper and Jos Buttler got out in the first over of their innings.
Jaiswal played a fiery knock of 67 runs off 40 deliveries while Parag hammered 77 in 49 balls.
"It was tough to bat against the new ball and when it got old, it became easier. Credit to both youngsters (Jaiswal and Parag), myself and Jos (Buttler) got out in the powerplay, they played well and got us to that position," he added.
Coming to the match, opting to bat first, solid knocks from Travis Head, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Heinrich Klaasen had propelled SRH to 210/3 after they were reduced to 35/2 inside the Powerplay.
Chasing the target of 202, Riyan Parag hammered 77 and Yashasvi Jaiswal scored 67 while stitching a 133-run stand after Bhuvneshwar Kumar scalped two wickets in the first over. However, Bhuvneshwar bagged a wicket final ball of the match as Sunrisers Hyderabad won by the smallest of margins.
RR will next take on Delhi Capitals (DC) in the national capital at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Tuesday. With 8 wins in 10 matches, Rajasthan cushioned their place at the top of the table with 16 points.