Hyderabad back on track after win over Rajasthan

This match was a test of character in two different ways. Rajasthan Royals had the challenge of putting behind them the spot-fixing controversy, while Sunrisers Hyderabad, coming in on the back of a deflating seven-wicket loss to Mumbai Indians, knew they desperately needed a win to keep alive their hopes of a playoff berth.
In the end, Hyderabad, who won by 23 runs to register their ninth win in the competition, ensured they were on track to achieve that, and also dealt another blow to Rajasthan, who will now have to play the eliminator between the third and fourth-placed teams in New Delhi on May 22.
Rajasthan, who ended on 113 for 9 chasing 137, looked spirited on the field, but weren’t quite able to cash in despite reducing Hyderabad to 5 for 3 in 2.4 overs. That it was a sluggish pitch wasn’t hard to fathom when a couple of deliveries very early on went to the wicketkeeper on the second bounce, but Hyderabad made life more difficult for themselves by losing a cluster of wickets early on. That meant the batsmen to follow had to go into damage-control mode.
Biplab Samantray, the Odisha batsman, who rode his luck early on to register a maiden IPL half-century, played that role to perfection. He was the beneficiary of some generosity from Rajasthan, who didn’t appeal after effecting a run-out when he had made just 8. He cashed in to play a responsible knock under pressure that lifted the team to a position from where they could accelerate. Hanuma Vihari (19) lent valuable support, but Darren Sammy (23 off 19 balls) and Thisara Perera (17 not out) applied the finishing touches as Hyderabad smashed 88 off the last ten overs.
In reply, Rahul Dravid (25) and Ajinkya Rahane (12) put on 39 to lay the foundation for the middle order. But this time around, they were consumed by the pressure of the asking rate on a pitch that didn’t exactly suit stroke-making. An unusually subdued Shane Watson could only score 11 off 20 deliveries, while none of the other batsmen that followed had the time to get their eye in before launching an onslaught.
Perera, who conceded 55 off his four overs in the previous game against Mumbai, roared back in fine fashion, picking up the crucial wickets of Watson and Stuart Binny to virtually kill the game.
The loss meant that James Faulkner’s second five-wicket haul of the season went in vain. It was an incisive and accurate spell on a pitch that suited his style, and he took his tournament-leading tally to 26 wickets. But having lifted themselves after the dire news of the previous 48 hours, Rajasthan found the finishing line too far away.