Jaipur (Rajasthan) [India], April 25 (ANI): A sensational century from 15-year-old prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and a half-century from Dhruv Jurel powered Rajasthan Royals to 228/6 in their 20 overs against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Saturday.
RR need to defend 229 runs to get their fifth win of the season, while SRH has to chase this total to get their fifth win. Sooryavanshi (103 in 37 balls, with five fours and 12 sixes) and Dhruv Jurel (51 in 35 balls, with eight fours and a six) put the foot on the pedal with a 112-run partnership. A cameo from Donovan Ferreira (33 in 13 balls, with three fours and three sixes) towards the end took RR to a fine score.
After SRH opted to bowl first, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi avenged his golden duck dismissal against Praful Hinge in their previous match by smashing him for four sixes in a row during the first over.
Yashasvi Jaiswal tried joining the party, but a miscued shot landed into Heinrich Klaasen’s hands at mid-on, giving Eshan Malinga his wicket for eight-ball 10. RR was 40/1 in 2.2 overs.
Dhruv Jurel took down a returning Pat Cummins in the fourth over with two fours, bringing up the 50-run mark in four overs, while Sooryavanshi toyed with Eshan, scoring a four and six against him in the fifth over.
With a four and six against Sakib Hussain in the final powerplay over, Sooryavanshi reached another 15-ball half-century, with a four and seven sixes to his name. RR ended with 76/1 in six overs.
With spinner Shivang Kumar introduced, Sooryavanshi and Jurel continued to toy with the bowling, collecting 16 more runs, including a six each from both. A straight six down the ground against Sakib helped RR reach the 100-run mark in nine overs.
In 10 overs, RR was 112/1, with Sooryavanshi (76*) and Jurel (25*) unbeaten.
Sooryavanshi continued to batter Shivang, collecting two fours and a six in the 11th over, while Jurel reached his third fifty of the tournament next over, with two fours against Nitish Kumar Reddy, in 34 balls, with eight fours and a six.
However, the partnership of 112 runs was ended by Nitish, removing Jurel for a 35-ball 61, including eight fours and a six. RR was 152/2 in 12.4 overs.
Smashing Sakib for a 6, 4 and then a 6 in the 14th over, Sooryavanshi reached his second IPL century in just 36 balls, including five fours and 12 sixes, but was cleaned up on the next ball for a sensational 103 in 37 balls. RR was 170/3 in 13.5 overs.
Donovan Ferreira and an out-of-form skipper Riyan Parag continued the innings, but the skipper was cleaned up for a nine-ball seven by Cummins, reducing RR to 191/4 in 16.1 overs.
In the 18th over, Donovan took out Sakib with a 6, 4 and a 6, bringing up the 200-run mark in 17.1 overs. However, in the next over, Ferreira’s cameo was ended by Eshan, courtesy a fine catch from Klaasen at long-on. The batter was gone for 16-ball 33, with three fours and three sixes. RR was 214/5 in 18.4 overs.
RR ended with 228/6, with Jofra Archer (2*) and Ravindra Jadeja (4*) unbeaten.
Eshan Malinga (2/38) was the pick of the bowlers for SRH, while Cummins, Hinge, Sakib and Nitish got a wicket each. Sakib, however, leaked 62 runs in his spell. (ANI)
