Rajasthan emerged victorious by a margin of seven wickets against Hyderabad in the 45th match of the twelfth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur on Saturday.
The visitors posted a total of 160 runs for the loss of eight wickets in 20 overs, after being sent in to bat first by Rajasthan skipper Steve Smith.
Manish Pandey was the highest run-scorer for Hyderabad scoring 61 runs off 36 deliveries to register his second consecutive half-century of the season.
David Warner had a quiet day on the field scoring a 32-ball 37 which did not include a single boundary. The rest of the batsmen failed to make their presence felt on the back of an excellent performance by the Rajasthan bowling attack, led by Jaydev Unandkat.
Unandkat was the pick of the bowlers, conceding 26 runs and picking two wickets in his bowling spell. He further enjoyed quality support from Oshane Thomas and Shreyas Gopal who picked two wickets apiece.
Rajasthan registered an excellent start to the chase scoring sixty runs in the powerplay overs, on the back of a steady opening partnership between Liam Livingstone and Ajinkya Rahane.
The duo did not permit the Hyderabad bowlers to settle at any stage, scoring runs at an aggressive rate. Sanju Samson and Steve Smith further maintained the momentum following their dismissals as Rajasthan sealed victory with five balls to spare.
Team Delhi face off against Bangalore in the 46th match of IPL 2019 on Sunday at the Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi. This will be further followed by a contest between Kolkata and Mumbai at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
Let us take a look at how the eight teams are placed in the standings ahead of the clashes:
| Team | Mat | Won | Lost | Tied | NR | Pts | NRR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chennai | 12 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 | -0.113 |
| Mumbai | 11 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 14 | +0.537 |
| Delhi | 11 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 14 | +0.181 |
| Hyderabad | 11 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 10 | +0.559 |
| Punjab | 11 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 10 | -0.117 |
| Rajasthan | 12 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 10 | -0.321 |
| Kolkata | 11 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 8 | -0.050 |
| Bangalore | 11 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 8 | -0.683 |
Orange Cap:
Australian opener David Warner continues to lead the run-scoring chart following his 32-ball 37 against Rajasthan on Saturday.
The Hyderabad opener further crossed the 600-run mark during the course of this knock. Warner has scored 611 runs in 11 matches at a strike rate of 143.76 and an average of 67.88.
English cricketer Jonny Bairstow who represented Hyderabad in IPL 2019 before leaving for international duty with England, continues to feature on the second spot.
Bairstow scored 445 runs in 10 matches at a strike rate of 157.24 and an average of 55.62 during his stint in this edition of the tournament.
Windies cricketer Chris Gayle and fellow Punjab opener KL Rahul are placed third and fourth on the list with 444 and 441 runs respectively.
Bangalore batsman AB de Villiers rounds off the top-five list with 414 runs in 10 matches at a strike rate of 158.01 and average of 59.14.
Purple Cap:
South African fast-bowler Kagiso Rabada is at the top of the list of the highest wicket-takers with 23 wickets in 11 matches at an average of 14.65.
Chennai spinner Imran Tahir is placed on the second spot with 17 wickets in 12 matches at an average of 17.58.
Rajasthan spinner Shreyas Gopal jumped to the third spot following his two-wicket haul against Hyderabad on Saturday. Gopal has now picked 15 wickets in 12 matches.
Chennai pacer Deepak Chahar and Bangalore spinner Yuzvendra Chahal round off the top-five list with 15 and 14 wickets respectively in 12 and 11 matches.
