SRH beat RR by four wickets in last-ball IPL thriller

Abdul Samad smashed a six off the last ball as Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Rajasthan Royals by four wickets to keep their playoff hopes alive in a high-scoring IPL thriller here on Sunday. Riding on aggressive fifties by Jos Buttler (95) and Sanju Samson (66), Rajasthan Royals posted a challenging 214 for two after winning the toss and electing to bat. In response, Abhishek Sharma (55), Rahul Tripathi (47) kept them in the hunt before Yuzvendra Chahal (4/29) snapped four wickets to almost derail their chase. A cameo from Glenn Phillips (25) reignited the chase as Abdul Samad’s (17 not out off 7 balls) knocked off the winning runs with a six in the last ball following a no-ball from Sandeep Sharma. For Sunrisers, Bhuvneshwar Kumar (1/44) and Marco Jansen (1/44) took one wicket each. Glenn Phillips | Player of the Match: It was a situation where it was going to go one of two ways. Happy to get out on top of this one. We are all here to do our job, this is what the team needed today. Fantastic for it to pay off, and I had so much fun today out there. (On his dismissal) That was the ball I should have hit the most, I was disappointed the actual slot ball didn’t go over the fence. I felt I left a lot out there with 17 needed off the final over, but then Samad did what he did and obviously we got that little bit of luck with the no ball. Aiden Markram: Emotions turned quite quickly, nice for us to get over the line. Chasing 215 isn’t easy, and guys contributed all along to chase a big target. We knew in a quick outfield like this we’ll score more than expected, but we had to be aggressive. Abhishek started up off, and then Tripathi gave him company. Then those cameos from Phillips and Klaasy. (On Samad’s finishing skills) I think you got to train it, and put yourself under pressure. You are playing high risk cricket, so that’s where technique comes in. Abdul Samad: When I went in to bat, it wasn’t an easy situation. Phillips gave us the injection. Was waiting