Powell last-ball dismissal brings heartbreak for Royals

HYDERABAD, India (CMC):

West Indies pair of Twenty20 International captain Rovman Powell and left-handed batsman Shimron Hetmyer failed to fire for Rajasthan Royals, and hosts Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) beat them by one run in a tense last-ball finish in the Indian Premier League yesterday.

Powell was leg before wicket to discarded India pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar for 27 off the last ball of the match, with Royals requiring two after they were asked to chase a target of 202 in their latest match of the lucrative Twenty20 tournament at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.

Hetmyer got 13, but Kumar proved his value when he defended 13 off the last over with only four fielders – and not five – outside the field restriction circle because of an SRH over-rate violation and pulled off a thrilling result to give his side their sixth win in 10 matches to move into fourth while Royals remained on top of the table with 16 points from eight wins in 10 matches.

Bhuvneshwar had set the tone with the crucial wickets of England T20 International captain Jos Buttler for a first-ball duck and India international Sanju Samson for a third-ball duck in the first over of the chase.

Royals were wobbling on 37 for two at the close of the Power Play, but Riyan Parag hit the top score of 77 from 49 balls, and Yashasvi Jaiswal made 67 from 40 balls and resurrected them with a stand of 134 for the third wicket.

Royals were practically halfway to the target on 100 for two after 10 overs, but again doubt raised its ugly head when Jaiswal and then Parag fell in the span of 15 balls, and they again looked shaky on 159 for four, with 45 required from the last 30 balls.

Hetmyer got them within reach in a stand of 22 for the fifth wicket with Powell before he was caught at long-on off left-arm pacer Thangarasu Natarajan in the 18th over, and Dhruv Jurel was caught on the leg-side off Australia fast bowler Patrick Cummins three balls later for one.

India off-spin bowling all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin got a single off the first ball of the final over from Bhuvneshwar, and it was left to Powell to finish it, but he only got 10 from the next four deliveries and was dismissed off the last ball.

Bhuvneshwar was the pick of the bowlers with three for 41 from four overs and earned Player-of-the-Match award, and Cummins and Natarajan snared two wickets apiece.

Earlier, solid knocks from Nitish Kumar Reddy, Australia left-hander Travis Head, and South Africa wicketkeeper-batsman Heinrich Klaasen had propelled SRH to 201 for three after they were reduced to 35 for two inside the Power Play.

Reddy anchored the batting with an undefeated top score of 76 from 42 balls, and he shared 96 for the third wicket with Head before putting on 70 – unbroken – with Klaasen for the fourth wicket to fortify the chances of the home team.

Head cracked 58 off 44 balls, and Klaasen was not out on 42 from 19 balls. Pacer Avesh Khan ended with two for 39 from four overs for Royals.