- Sunrisers Hyderabad 127-5; Rajasthan Royals 131-4 (20.0 overs)
- Royals win by six wickets
Right well that was a lot narrower than I expected. The Royals were cruising until Rahane got out, uncharacteristically looking to force the issue. They seemed to get bogged down in the last over, but all’s well that ends well, I guess and they’ll be happy with a fourth win in a row. Well done them.
Bye everyone. Thanks for reading.
19.6 overs Royals 127-4 (Faulkner 2, Binny 16) target 128 If the scores are tied then it goes to a super over, annoyingly. Ojha stands up to the stumps as every fielder comes in. Faulkner slaps a full toss through point to the boundary though.
19.5 overs Royals 127-4 (Faulkner 2, Binny 16) target 128 There are five men inside the circle. Binny chips down the ground to tie the scores.
19.4 overs Royals 126-4 (Faulkner 2, Binny 15) target 128 A huge appeal for one that was going so far down leg that it would have missed a second set. Leg-bye taken. Two from two needed.
19.3 overs Royals 125-4 (Faulkner 2, Binny 15) target 128 Backs away and is beaten by a good yorker.
19.2 overs Royals 125-4 (Faulkner 2, Binny 15) target 128 Well stopped at point by Morgan, but his throw back to the bowler is fumbled and the run-out chance is missed.
19.1 overs Royals 124-4 (Faulkner 2, Binny 14) target 128 The final over then, Praveen Kumar to bowl it and try to pull off something that, in a meaningful match, might be called heroic. Ooh let’s do ball-by-ball, I’ve never done that! He’s taking his sweet time over his first ball, which is (eventually) a good yorker that Faulkner digs out and runs a single.
19th over: Royals 123-4 (Faulkner 1, Binny 14) target 128 After a brief pause for some Oscorp Gratuitous Pretty Cheerleader Shots, Boult returns. “Top shot” says the commentator as Rahane bottom edges a clump down to mid-on for one. Binny then slogs in the air to cow-corner but it drops short of the fielder coming in from the rope. Rahane falls with 10 runs still needed and Faulkner replaces him. He nabs a single, then the final ball is another short one that Binny slashes behind point for a one-bounce four. Five needed from the final over.
Rahane looks to slog a back-of-a-length ball through the on-side, but the ball cannons off the bottom corner of his bat into off-stump.
18th over: Royals 116-3 (Rahane 61, Binny 9) target 128 Bhuvi Kumar is back on but it really doesn’t matter any more. Rahane picks him up off the pads when he goes leg-side and lofts it away for a one-bounce four to mid-wicket, the ball barely failing to clear the rope. He then chips down the ground for one, which is quite handy with a run a ball needed. The TV thing’s Twitter meter thing has 53% of people backing the Royals to win from here. Good, that.
17th over: Royals 108-3 (Rahane 55, Binny 7) target 128 So into his final over now, Ravi Bopara. Binny looks to slog him into the on-side but gets a leading edge that lands in no-man’s land at cover. It brings Rahane on strike and he shows Binny how it’s done, cracking four through mid-on. Bopara finishes with 2-18 from his four excellent overs. 20 more needed for the batting side.
16th over: Royals 101-3 (Rahane 50, Binny 5) target 128 Ashish Reddy is coming on for a bowl, with just 32 needed from the last five. It’s right-arm, military medium wicket-to-wicket stuff and, after Binny takes two and one, Rahane clips to mid-wicket and runs the one he needs to bring up his fifty.
15th over: Royals 96-3 (Rahane 49, Binny 1) target 128 Right, back comes Bopara. There hasn’t been a Globex Corporation Maximum in this innings and there haven’t been many fours either at that, yet it’s as easy a chase as you’ll have seen. Once again though, I’ve jinxed another wicket out. Rahane flays the final ball of the over over point for four more to move to 49 from 44 balls.
He’s done it again! Ravi gets one to stick in the pitch a touch, the bat turns in Karun’s hands and he pops it back to the bowler, who takes a good tumbling catch.
This is, indeed, quite cool
This is quite cool. Busker in Herne Hill! pic.twitter.com/9iFh8y0Z5f
14th over: Royals 90-2 (Rahane 44, Nair 1) target 128 Sharma might regret his decision to toss it up a bit more as Smith waltzes down the pitch and drives inside out over extra cover for four... or not, as Smith gets out looking to repeat the trick. Still, it’s probably a bit late for it to matter that much. Karun Nair the new batsman and gets off the mark straight away. Rahane then leans into a wide half-volley and absolutely crushes it, pinging it to the fence.
Do you reckon it’s the exact same orange cap? Anyway, Vandelay Industries Batting Strategic Time-Out time.
Sharma tosses one up and Smith drives straight to Warner at cover on the edge of the circle, where his compatriot holds on to a straightforward catch.
13th over: Royals 80-1 (Rahane 39, Smith 9) target 128 Bopara, who has thus far fully justified his selection at the expense of Dale Steyn, continues.
I just heard a commentator say the orange and purple caps are "confusing." He is now being waterboarded by an irate IPL producer.
12th over: Royals 77-1 (Rahane 38, Smith 7) target 128 With a new batsman at the crease, Warner brings back his strike bowler Boult. He comes round the wicket to Rahane, who scorches the first boundary in 27 balls up and over cover point. Slugged back down the ground next up, for four to long-on and Smith looks like he wants me to get an early dinner tonight.
11th over: Royals 65-1 (Rahane 33, Smith 1) target 128 Bopara is going to have a bowl. “He has to be the guy who takes a wicket,” says the commentator, which tells you more than I ever could about... oh and as I write that, the inevitable happens on the second ball. Samson was just looking to guide that down to third man but didn’t get it off the face of the bat. Enter Steve Smith, who might just be the best man to bring in in this situation. He nudges his first ball into the on-side for one. Ravi appeals for a second wicket in the over as he moves one away from Rahane’s waft, but it’s nowhere near. Three from an excellent over.
This is a great catch. It’s a length ball that just wobbled a bit, took the edge and Ojha clung on superbly with one hand diving to his right.
10th over: Royals 63-0 (Rahane 32, Samson 26) target 128 Sharma looks to have dropped his pace, which, given what we saw of the wicket earlier, seems wise. Second ball is overpitched though and driven inside out four a couple. It’s been 14 balls since the last boundary, but this is so comfortable. As I write that, Sharma turns one past the outside edge. Six, all run, off the over. Again.
Garry Ballance has a hundred in Antigua.
9th over: Royals 57-0 (Rahane 27, Samson 25) target 128 Praveen Kumar will continue having taken 0-18 from his first two. He drops short and Samson pulls him to the fence for a couple. There are so many gaps in the field that the twos are easy to pick up for these two; naive captaincy from Warner I’d say. He doesn’t even have a slip in place despite the need for a wicket. Six off the over.
8th over: Royals 51-0 (Rahane 26, Samson 20) target 128 Karn Sharma is on to bowl his leg-breaks; Tambe had some success earlier so it’s definitely worth a try. Sharma is quicker though and not getting as much turn. He’s also dropping shorter and Rahane misses out looking to muller him over mid-wicket but failing to properly connect. The final ball is wider and turns appreciably, but there’s no sign of a wicket.
Time for a Vandelay Industries Strategic Time-Out.
7th over: Royals 48-0 (Rahane 24, Samson 19) target 128 The Test match is more up-tempo than this now. P Kumar, as with his first over, begins this one with a wide. Apparently, there is a fair play award in the IPL. Wondering how that works? Me too and no one in the office seems to have heard of it. Anyway, here’s what Wikipedia says.
After each match, the two on-field umpires, and the third umpire, scores the performance of both the teams. A team can be awarded a total of ten points per match, out of which four points are given on the basis of how the team has adhered to the “spirit of the game” in the opinion of the umpires. The other three criteria are based on the respect towards to the opposition, the laws of cricket and the umpires. Each of these three criteria represents 2 points. If a team has got two points in the criterion, its performance is considered as “good”, whereas getting one or zero points indicates that its performance is “average” or “bad” respectively.
No slip, and Samson survives another ball. Again, despite his best efforts. #SRHvRR
6th over: Royals 36-0 (Rahane 23, Samson 9) target 128 It’s a change of ends for B Kumar. The Royals are almost perfectly in line with the required rate at the moment. They seem happy to stick with keeping there in singles at the moment, although Rahane gets a leading edge that loops over Boult at mid-on on the edge of the circle and trickles away for four. Then a bye as the keeper Ojha allows a wide one to flick up off his boot and out into space. Not actual outer space, that is.
5th over: Royals 27-0 (Rahane 16, Samson 8) target 128 One Kumar replaces another as Praven comes on and he starts with a leg-side wide. While the TV people focus on some submarine instead of the cricket (really), let’s take a moment to wonder what’s happened to Mike Atherton’s hair.
4th over: Royals 22-0 (Rahane 15, Samson 5) target 128 Boult again and Samson has to change his course and run round the bowler to avoid a collision. Little drama though as he’s nowhere near being run out. It’s not a Compu-Global-Hyper-Mega-Net Thriller, this one, I’ll be honest. A push square on the leg-side for a couple more when Boult goes too straight, as he has been for much of this spell to be honest. Rahane then misses out with a waft outside off, before flicking another four off his pads to fine leg.
3rd over: Royals 14-0 (Rahane 9, Samson 4) target 128 Samson pushes a nice drive on the up through cover for a couple. Trent Boult, incidentally, is understandably a wee bit more than miffed over that wicket-that-wasn’t in the last over. Serene stuff so far, with the Royals more interested in not losing early wickets with the required run-rate not particularly challenging.
2nd over: Royals 11-0 (Rahane 9, Samson 1) target 128 From the other end it’s Trent Boult and the batsmen nab a leg-bye from his first ball. Then what looks like four more of them, but it’s been given as runs to Rahane, down to long-leg as Boult gets his line wrong. He gets his line perfectly right next, hitting Rahane on the back pad and having him plumb LBW, but the umpire erroneously thinks it’s hit bat then pad, rather than the other way around, and gives it not out.
At lunch, by the way, England are 224-4, with a lead of 338. Simon Burnton has the latest here but PLEASE DON’T LEAVE ME.
1st over: Royals 6-0 (Rahane 5, Samson 1) target 128 Bhuvi Kumar v Ajinkya Rahane in the all-India opening ball show. First ball is glanced down to third man for one, wide of the two slips. The other batsman is Samson and he cracks a short, wide one straight to the man at cover. That’ll be frustrating for him. He gets off the mark, also with a glance to third man, off a ball that swung back in appreciably. Kumar then drops short again and Rahane times him nicely though backward point for four.
There was a bit of turn there for the spinners, but that’s a very below-par score from the Sunrisers. The Royals bowled well, very tight and with few extras given away, but the batsmen placed a pretty low price on their wickets and this should be chased down comfortably.
Or 129, if I’m right about that extra run and everyone else is wrong. We wait with baited breath, although either way this should be a very comfortable chase. Back soon.
20th over: Sunrisers 127-5 (Bopara 23, Ashish Reddy 13) A good rule of thumb tends to be that if Ravi is there at the end then his team will lose and it looks like that will be the case here. Reddy slugs Southee’s first ball over mid-off, where Faulkner catches it on the rope but can’t release the ball before stepping over it. A bye gets Bopara back on strike and he looks to muscle a short ball over mid-wicket, but he doesn’t get hold of it and there’s just the one run. “Dot ball” says the commentator as the batsmen jog through for a single next ball. Sigh. Bopara then pulls the penultimate ball out to the boundary fielder for another one and the final ball of the innings is levered out to cow corner for two.
19th over: Sunrisers 115-5 (Bopara 21, Ashish Reddy 4) Tambe, with 2-11 from his three so far will bowl the penultimate over and – oh bloody hell – Ravi Bopara dumps him right into the stands with a wonderful straight hit for a Globex Corporation Maximum. Next ball though there’s a review for a run-out as Ashish dives back going for a sharp second; the bat has bounced up but there’s some of it still grounded over the crease and he’s fine I reckon. Yep, not out. 11 from the over and Tambe, aged 40, finishes with 4-0-21-2.
18th over: Sunrisers 104-5 (Bopara 12, Ashish Reddy 2) Dropped. Bopara gives Morris the charge and heaves a cross-bat slap back at the bowler, but Morris can’t hold on to a stinging catch. Ravi tries the same again next ball and gets a bottom edge into the ground. A nudge into the off-side for one finally brings up the team 100, then Bopara drives a juicy half-volley straight back past the bowler for four. Six from an underwhelming over.
17th over: Sunrisers 98-5 (Bopara 6, Ashish Reddy 1) A missed stumping by Samson as Morgan walks past the wrong-un and the ball clatters into the ‘keeper’s grille. It doesn’t cost anything though as Morgan is dismissed by the very next ball.
Morgan tries to reverse sweep, doesn’t connect and is plumb LBW. 27 from 30 really isn’t good enough in... well I can’t think when that would ever be a good score in any cricket.
16th over: Sunrisers 95-4 (Bopara 5, Morgan 27) Bopara looks to to flick Hooda over to fine-leg, but spoons it up off the toe end of the bat and gets one to third man instead. A filthy wide one as the bowler gets his release all wrong, but Morgan stretches and bunts to cover rather than leaving it and getting the wide.
15th over: Sunrisers 90-4 (Bopara 1, Morgan 26) Bopara and Morgan are batting together. This doesn’t normally end well, given that normally when they’re batting together it’s in an England ODI. Ravi gets off the mark with an elegant cover drive for one. Morgan reverse-sweeps for two, with Smith reading his intention nicely and moving round to leg-slip to half stop the ball.
Another Vandelay Industries Strategic Break now.
Think this is the top-spinner as it fizzes through and Ojha can’t get his (crooked) bat down in time. This one is out.
14th over: Sunrisers 87-3 (Ojha 25, Morgan 24) Now it’s Eoin Morgan’s turn to get away with one as his mistimed swipe takes the top edge but lands wide of the man running round to short mid-wicket. 10 an over here gets the Sunrisers to 145, which won’t be enough. Morgan waits on the last ball and punches it nicely off the back-foot through point for four more.
“Which Aussie is most important for Rajasthan,” asks the TV question thing, “Faulkner, Smith or Watson.” 9% vote Watson, who isn’t playing.
13th over: Sunrisers 79-3 (Ojha 22, Morgan 19) Time for a bit more spin and Tambe, the veteran leggie, comes on and gets a huge amount of turn first ball to beat Ojha. In comes a slip, which seems like a decent enough idea. Ojha thumps one down the ground only for Morris to get around and make an excellent sliding stop to save two. The batsman gets away with it two balls later though, launching a high one towards long-off, not getting hold of it and seeing Hooda fall just short with his dive after running round.
12th over: Sunrisers 75-3 (Ojha 18, Morgan 19) Still with me? Binny continues and Morgan times him through extra-cover for the one run. Now, I’ve got the same score here as Cricinfo and the TV, but surely if the two batsmen crossed while the ball was in the air when Ojha was caught off the no-ball, they should have one more run, no? Two singles, a dot, another two singles and then Morgan nails a pull through point for four.
11th over: Sunrisers 67-3 (Ojha 16, Morgan 13) The second ball of Faulkner’s over draws a big top-edge from Ojha and Samson takes the high catch... but Faulkner has overstepped and reprieved that batsman. We’re taking an age over the fourth umpire replays, but it looks pretty clear to me. Just make the god damn decision already. This is a Soylent Corp Farce. Finally, it’s a no-ball and a free hit; Ojha is not out.
Somehow Morgan is on strike for the free hit and he swishes it over mid-wicket for six. Surely Ojha should have been on strike? Anyway, after a couple of dots and a single, Ojha flicks another leg-side ball round the corner for four.
10th over: Sunrisers 55-3 (Ojha 12, Morgan 6) This partnership is just 16 from 23 balls, so could do with these two kicking on pretty soon. Of course if they do that and get out they’ll be even more screwed. I guess that’s the inherent fault with this format, that early excitement can easily lead to a match of Weyland Yutani Boring Middle Overs. And speaking of which, Stuart Binny is into the attack. In fairness to Mr. Mediocre, he bowls a lovely deliver to Ojha that beats the batsman all ends up. And now, mid-over, time for...
9th over: Sunrisers 51-3 (Ojha 11, Morgan 3) James Faulkner now into the attack, to Morgan. England fans the world over (who don’t like Test cricket anyway) shiver at the memories of Eoin v Australian attacks. After Morgan wisely gets off strike, Ojha turns a short, straight one around the corner for four. A wild bouncer is called a wide, then Morgan nips through for a sharp single. The final ball is a nice slower ball that hits the inside edge and ricochets down a bit close to the stumps.
It’s time for a Vandelay Industries Strategic Time-Out.
8th over: Sunrisers 43-3 (Ojha 6, Morgan 1) Third over on the spin for Kulkarni, who has bowled very nicely for his 2-6 so far. The batsmen exchange singles, then there’s half a shout for LBW against Ohja. He hit it though and, under the ACME Laws of IPL Cricketainment, that’s not out. Chuck a wide in there and that’s it for the over.
I’m making these sponsor’s names up, in case you hadn’t guessed.
7th over: Sunrisers 40-3 (Ojha 5, Morgan 0) Back comes arch-nemesis of DJ Neil Fox, Chris Morris. The powerplay is now done and you probably don’t need me to point out that the Sunrisers, like Courtney Love,
murdered Kurt Combain are in (a) hole. Ojha gets four with a sweet bit of timing, but there’s a mix-up in the middle of the pitch next ball and Ohja would have been gone with a direct hit, I’ll wager. Five from the over and the bowling side will take that.
6th over: Sunrisers 35-3 (Ojha 0, Morgan 0) The hat-trick ball is seen out by the out-of-form England captain. No, the other one. He can barely lay bat on ball and it’s a wicket maiden.
Sorry, Rahul was the man out. Refresh the page and it will correct.
First ball and Rahul is pinned on the crease, plumb in front of leg to one that nipped back in and Kulkarni is on a hat-trick.
5th over: Sunrisers 35-2 (Ojha 0, Rahul 2) KL Rahul is the new batsman and Southee is the new, old batsman. Warner comes down the track to his first ball, a short one, and launches it over point for a Globex Corporation Maximum (that’s not a maximum, it’s six). Southee looks to respond with a yorker but ends up swinging it down leg for a wide. After two balls on a blog, Rahul runs one into the off-side for a couple. Then he edges one to slip, where there’s no one fielding, and as they lackadaisically jog through Rahane swoops in to steal a wicket!
This is shoddy. Rahane runs round to field the ball in the vacant slip region and gets a direct hit as Warner ambled through. Lazy running, that.
4th over: Sunrisers 25-1 (Warner 14, Rahul 0) Another change, Kulkarni into the attack and his first ball is short, wide and slapped to cover for one. With consecutive balls, Kulkarni then beats Warner on the drive, the second time with a slower ball. A sharp single to point after that as the batsmen, conscious of the need to keep dots to a minimum, rotate the strike. Dhawan slams the fifth ball over cover for four, then goes to the last one.
Incidentally in Antigua, both Ballance and Root recently reached their half-centuries.
Lovely ball this, back of a length and moving across the left-hander. He tried to play it off the back-foot but could only feather a catch through to the keeper.
3rd over: Sunrisers 19-0 (Warner 13, Dhawan 5) Surprisingly, after conceding just one from his first over, Southee is off and Deepak Hooda replaces him. A pair of dots to Dhawan – the fifth and sixth he’s played out on zero so far – increase the pressure on the batsman but all the good work is undone with a poor full-toss that Dhawan clips through mid-wicket for four. Wide, down the leg-side, then Dhawan pushes for a single to mid-on. The final ball, to Warner, is short but the batsman doesn’t time his cut properly and there’s no run.
2nd over: Sunrisers 13-0 (Warner 13, Dhawan 0) Southee nearly takes a splendid one-handed catch, leaping as Warner clubs Chris Morris over mid-on. Next ball is short and wide and the Aussie left-hander cracks it through point to make it back-to-back boundaries. A dot, then four more, this time a drive off a half-volley, skewed through point again. Two dots complete the over.
He grassed it, then it hit the grass again - poor of Piggy that... #ipl
In fact I’ve been hasty – we’re checking to see if the ball carried to Smith at slip. It did not.
1st over: Sunrisers 1-0 (Warner 1, Dhawan 0) Here we go then, Southee to open the bowling to Warner. It’s just like the World Cup, only at a reasonable time of day. I swear Danny Morrison just said that Southee has a “double arse”. Warner looks to pull the first ball but is late on it and the ball dribbles away to cover for no run. One run from the next ball, clipped square. Southee is looking to swing it back into the left-handers, with some success, which is a high-risk policy to Warner although not so much the off-side-favouring Dhawan. The Indian opener looks to slash one through extra cover but misses out. A good yorker follows that and this is an excellent start from Southee, with just the single from the first five. And then he finds the edge as Dhawan gives him the charge, but it doesn’t carry to slip.
The Royals, meanwhile, are unchanged for the fourth successive match. I’ll be honest, that’s not especially interesting, but it’s an excuse to post this cracker.
$2,000,000. Two million US dollars. That can get you any one of these lovely properties across ‘Merica. Or it can buy you the world’s most feared South Africa fast bowler, just so you can leave him on the bench. Manchester City are rumoured to be interested.
For the last three years there hasn’t been any IPL cricket in
my attention Visakhapatnam, but there’s a nice atmosphere to the place nonetheless.
It looks as though Shane Watson still isn’t fit for the Royals. For the Sunrisers, Williamson is out and England’s beleaguered ODI captain Eoin Morgan gets a game. Out of sympathy or something. Morgan v Binny: who will disappoint more?
Rajasthan Royals have won it and will have a bowl first.
The big stories are elsewhere though, as my colleague Jacob Steinberg has just found this:
.@hkane28& @JordanSpieth were born within 24hrs of each other, is their success connected? We speak to astrologer @JonathanCainer on #SSNHQ
Afternoon, folks. OK yes, there’s a Test match going on, but this is where it’s at. Get with the times, granddad, yeah? Test cricket is long and nothing happens for ages on end. The IPL – or, to give it its full name, The Duff Breweries IPL* – has razzmatazz, it has glitz, it has bling and it has Ravi Bopara. Which would you rather watch: James Tredwell or the sporting equivalent of a Kanye West concert? We are living in a material world and I am a material girl**.
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