'This is game of margins and you lost to margins when you overstepped' - Aakash Chopra on SRH's dramatic victory over RR
SRH won the match on the extra ball after Sandeep Sharma overstepped during the final ball of the game.
Sunrisers Hyderabad pulled off a sensational chase, beating Rajasthan Royals by four wickets in Match No. 52 of the IPL 2023 at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Sunday night. The Royals amassed 214/2 in 20 overs, with Jos Buttler hitting 95 (59b, 10x4, 4x6) and skipper Sanju Samson managing 66 not out (38b, 4x4, 5x6). SRH’s batters kept their sights firmly on the target with opener Abhishek Sharma scoring 55 runs (34b, 5x4, 2x6).
Ultimately, the game came down to a last-ball thriller where Abdul Samad smashed a six off medium pacer Sandeep Sharma to take his side over the line. Spinner Yuzvendra Chahal tied Dwayne Bravo's record of 183 IPL wickets in the losing effort, ending with figures of 4/29. The encounter was tied for the third-highest target to ever be successfully chased down in IPL history.
SRH scored 43 runs in the final two overs, which included Kuldeep Yadav giving away 24 runs in the 19th over, of which 22 were struck by Glenn Phillips who smashed three successive sixes and a boundary.
JioCinema IPL expert Aakash Chopra wasn’t a fan of giving Kuldeep Yadav the ball in the 19th over, saying: “We discussed how one decision can be the difference between winning and losing. Who bowled the 19th over? If someone had to, it should’ve been Sandeep Sharma or Obed McCoy. Kuldeep Yadav could have bowled, I am not saying he can’t be better or is average, but the truth is that he shouldn’t have bowled this over.”
Chopra also commented on the final over no-ball by Sandeep Sharma in a poetic manner, saying: “They got that catch and thought it was over, but this is a game of margins and you lost to the margins when you overstepped. If you overstep, you have to face the consequences.”
Another JioCinema IPL expert Brett Lee loved the contest. “What is going on in this IPL? I honestly can’t believe it. This has been an amazing finish. It has been an incredible weekend of cricket and it’s been a great game tonight. I thought there was no chance with those amount of runs in those balls.”
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