*RR VS SRH REVIEW- MATCH NUMBER 52*
*SRH STUN RR AS RACE FOR TOP 4 INTENSIFIES:*
Think of yourself as part of the pendulum, moving left and right slowly and gradually. The IPL is an exact replica, giving us thrillers one after the other and slowly changing the scenario of the points table. Tonight, we saw SRH chase down their highest ever IPL target and they did it with loads of drama in the middle. After leaking 214 runs with the ball, the two Punjabi openers walked out to bat and marched towards the Everest, eating up piece by piece. Having set the tone upfront with an Aggresive partnership at the beginning, it was Rahul Tripathi who took over and started bashing the spinners. He was soon joined by Heinrich Klaasen as Abhishek departed for another impactful knock of 55 runs. Heinrich and Tripathi together were a menace for the slower bowling type, while one ended on 47 off 29 having failed to finish the game himself, the former chipped in with a powerful 26 off 12 striking at over 200. SRH at this point would have hoped that these two take them through but a twist was certainly in the reckoning, after this partnership broke, Markram fell soon after and out came Glenn Phillips, having replaced Harry Brook in the XI. With 41 required off 12, he breathed fire into the game taking full toll of Kuldip Yadav- managing to collect three sixes on the trot off the newbie. His 25 were game changing and coupled with Samad dealing in sixes (17 off 7), SRH chased the impossible on the very last bowl with Samad smashing one lofted shot down the ground. The talking point, however, became the no ball bowled by Sandeep Sharma that would have sealed the game for RR at their home venue had he not overstepped. Nonetheless, SRH are still breathing in this tournament and with 4 wins in 10 games now, they would feel some amount of relief.
*BUTTLER ANNOUNCES HIS RETURN AGAINST A FAMILIAR OPPOSITION:*
RR started this game with a clear bang bang approach and the way Jaiswal was batting was indicative of that brutal assault. Though he did score off some top edges and outside edges, it was his bravery that backed his luck. All this while, Jos played a quiet hand at the other hand. Even when Samson joined Jos at the crease, the attacking mindset was being carried forward by the Kerela born as the southpaw raced away to a 38 ball 66, a knock comprising of 5 sixes and 4 fours. Buttler changed gears post one of Markande’s overs who was taken for aplenty tonight. The Englishmen racked up his half century after a mini slump in the middle phase of the season and completely blew SRH away. If memory serves me right, he was dominant against SRH in Rajasthan’s first game as well. He fell agonisingly short of this season’s fourth century ending his masterful knock at 95 with 10 fours, courtesy a brilliant Bhuvi Yorker. The fact that 214 were generated for the loss of just 2 wickets speaks volumes of the strength that their top order possesses.