May 7, 2015
Brief Scorecard: Sunrisers Hyderabad 201 for 4 (Morgan 63, Dhawan 54) beat Rajasthan Royals 194 for 7 (Smith 68, Morris 34*) by seven runs
Eoin Morgan and Shikar Dhawan scored rapidfire fifties, Rajasthan Royals v Sunrisers Hyderabad, IPL 2015, Mumbai, May 7, 2015
May 7, 2015
Brief Scorecard: Sunrisers Hyderabad 201 for 4 (Morgan 63, Dhawan 54) beat Rajasthan Royals 194 for 7 (Smith 68, Morris 34*) by seven runs
Eoin Morgan and Shikar Dhawan scored rapidfire fifties, Rajasthan Royals v Sunrisers Hyderabad, IPL 2015, Mumbai, May 7, 2015
MUMBAI – Eoin Morgan creamed a rapid-fire fifty to propel Sunrisers Hyderabad to a seven-run victory over Rajasthan Royals in the IPL.
The England star (63 from 28 balls) had shown glimpses of a return to form with scores of 27 and 32 in previous Sunrisers games, but biffed Rajasthan’s attack to all parts of Brabourne Stadium as the visitors racked up 201-4 from their 20 overs having been put into bat.
Steve Smith (68 from 40) did his utmost to try and pocket a seventh win of the campaign for second-placed Rajasthan but Hyderabad restricted their hosts to 194-7 to move just a point shy of the play-off spots.
Morgan’s exhilarating knock, during which he smoked five maximums and nine fours, lit up the backend of Sunrisers’ innings, with skipper David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan impressing up top.
Warner (24 from 18) tweaked his back while putting on 48 with opening partner Shikhar Dhawan, the Australian able to crack five boundaries amid his notable grimacing.
The left-hander clobbered the first two deliveries of countryman Shane Watson’s first over – the fifth of the match – to the ropes but was caught behind next ball trying to loft into the off-side.
Berserk
Dhawan (54 from 35) continued to impress, though, bringing up his half-century with a six, before he was castled by another Australian, James Faulkner, looking to play the reverse sweep.
But Dhawan’s exit did not derail Hyderabad as Morgan went berserk, the 28-year-old finally pouched by Smith at long-off after adding 53 for the fourth wicket with England colleague Ravi Bopara (17no) from just 20 balls.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar picked up 3 for 44 in his four overs, Rajasthan Royals v Sunrisers Hyderabad, IPL 2015, Mumbai, May 7, 2015
Rajasthan’s Ajinkya Rahane – the current top run scorer in the 2015 IPL (438) – did not fire on Thursday, however, exiting for just eight following a slick catch from Sunrisers’ gloveman Naman Ojha off the bowling of Bhuvneshwar Kumar (3-44).
Shane Watson (12) – whose three overs of seam yielded two wickets but also 36 runs – came and went, while the Surrey-bound Moises Henriques atoned slightly for shelling Smith at deep square leg when the Australian was on 14 by nabbing Karun Nair (four).
Smith continued to prove Henriques’ nemesis, picking him and spinner Karn Sharma off for myriad boundaries, but the Sydney-born star was bowled by Bopara in the 15th over and some lusty blows from Faulkner (30 from 19), Sanju Samson (21 from 10) and Chris Morris (34 from 11) could not drag the Royals over the line.
Kevin Pietersen on Sky Sports: "I am so happy for Morgan, who is an absolute superstar. He is playing in the IPL against top players and with the likes of Muttiah Muralitharan around him at Sunrisers and it’s really benefiting his game. That’s brilliant for England, too, and I would rather see him in India than in Malahide [against Ireland on Friday]."
Courtesy: SKY Sports
