Pat Cummins has recovered from an earlier dropped catch to steer Sunrisers Hyderabad to a thrilling one-run win over the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL.
Chasing 202 for victory, the Royals lost two wickets in the first over, and should have lost a third in the second over when the Aussie Test skipper bottled what should have been a straight-forward chance when batter Yashasvi Jaiswal was on 7. He went on to make 67.
When Cummins brought himself on to bowl the 16th over, the Royals were looking comfortable needing 45 from 30 balls, with Riyan Parag at the crease on 76.
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That over went for just three runs, and he had Parag caught on the long-on boundary.
The next two overs then went for 22, leaving the equation at 20 from the final two when Cummins brought himself on again to bowl the penultimate over.
It was a stunner – he claimed the wicket of Dhruv Jurel with his first ball, a single from the next, and then three dot balls. West Indian Rovman Powell managed to belt him for six over cover from the last ball.
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That left the Royals needing 13 from the final over, which was to be bowled by former Indian Test bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
To make life harder for the Sunrisers, a slow over-rate meant they were restricted to just four players outside the circle in the final over.
Indian Test spinner Ravi Ashwin got a single off the first ball. That gave the strike to the big-hitting Powell, who hit a 2, a boundary, and was almost run out from the second-last ball coming back for a tight second run.
That left the Royals needing just two off the final ball to claim victory, but Powell missed a low and straight full toss from Kumar and was given out lbw.
The decision was reviewed – the pair had scampered through for a single so the match would've gone to a Super Over – but it was smashing leg stump.
"Amazing game, didn't think we had that one until, literally, the last ball," Cummins said.
"It's T20 cricket – I think we're used to batters getting over the line, but if you get it down to that last over you feel like anything can happen, and (Kumar) just nailed six yorkers pretty much.
"That last ball, I kind of forgot we could take a wicket and win. I was just thinking Super Over."
Earlier, Travis Head smacked 58 off 44 balls to lay the foundations for the Sunrisers, before Nitish Kumar Reddy belted 76 off just 42 balls, supported by Heinrich Klaasen, who hit 42 off 19 himself.
Having been dropped by Cummins, Jaiswal and Parah steadied the Royals ship and put on 134 for the third wicket in the next 13 overs before Thangarasu Natarajan made the breakthrough to get Jaiswal, and then Cummins got Parag.
The win lifts the Sunrisers into the top-four with four matches still to be played.
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