IPL as it happened: Hodge wins it for Rajasthan with two sixes

Click here for the scorecard. 2335: SIX! SIX! And that’s it. Unbelievable stuff from Hodge, heaving one over mid-wicket before clearing long-on. What a win! RR finish at 135-6 in 19.2 overs. 2330: This one’s going down to the wire! Excellent over from Perera — only five off it. Hodge has kept strike for the last over, where RR need 10 to win. 2322: Dale Steyn has gone through his four overs, finishing with figures of 1/23. Faulkner sees out his last over and also beats the offside field for a four. RR are 118-6 after 18 overs. 2315: Four! Confident shot from Faulkner through the offside. That leaves RR wanting 25 runs off 18 balls. It’s 108-6. 2310: Wicket! Samson lbw b Steyn 10 (21b, 0x4, 0x6): What a delivery! Unplayable almost, and so much speed. Samson goes for the flick, misses and is adjudged LBW. RR are 102-6 after 15.5 overs. 2305: Another six! Hodge is on the charge, and RR are suddenly looking good for a win. It’s 99-5 after 15 overs. 2300: Turning point, is this? Brad Hodge absolutely bullies KV Sharma, heaving him for two huge sixes before pulling away a four that, excuse the cliche, travelled like a bullet! That takes RR to 91-5 after 14 overs. They need 42 from 36 now. 2257: What a fantastic performance from Amit Mishra. After his wicket-maiden over before this, he gives away just three in the current one. RR are 73-5 after 13 overs. The spinners are enjoying this. 2250: Out comes Brad Hodge, and he really needs to play a patient innings now. The target isn’t really that big, and a good partnership will do the trick. Both batsmen work five runs in the over, and RR are 62-5 after 11 overs. 2245: Wicket! Binny b Sammy 2 (6b, 0x4, 0x6): My word this is some collapse! From 50-2 to 57-5! Darren Sammy’s straight delivery, nice and tight, goes through the bat-pad gap and raps the stumps. Binny’s gone and RR are 57-5 after 9.4 overs. 2238: Wicket! Rahane c & b Mishra 18 (20b, 0x4, 1x6): Not good news this, for Rajasthan. Rahane confounded by Mishra’s delivery and gives it straight back to the bowler. It’s 55-4 after 8.2 overs. 2235: Wicket! Yagnik b Sammy 0 (4b, 0x4, 0x6): What a bad slog that is, and Yagnik’s stumps pay. Sammy exults, and SRH are certainly in this game. RR are 53-3 after 7.4 overs. 2227: Wicket! Watson c Sammy b KV Sharma 24 (15b, 5x4, 0x6): What a catch! Sammy’s inches away from the rope, but keeps his balance and takes a fine catch on the stretch. Watson can’t believe it. RR are 50-2 after 6.4 overs.  2222: Ishant Sharma may have taken Dravid’s wicket, but he’s turning out to be expensive. Rahane charges down the track and smacks him for six before Watson powers a couple of fours. 16 off that over, and RR are 44-1 after six. 2215: Rajasthan should take it easy, despite that early blow of losing Dravid and they will make it easily. But Watson wants to quicken this up, cracking one through the on-side for four. It’s 25-1 after four overs. 2205: Wicket! Dravid c Sharma b Ishant 12 (10b, 3x4, 0x6): Oh leading edge! Dravid looks to flick it away, but it’s ended up at point. Big blow, this. RR are 13-1 after two overs. Rajasthan Royals need 133 runs to beat Sunrisers Hyderabad. 2145: That’s it then… no crazy last over for SRH. They’ve managed to post 132-7 in 20 overs. 2138: Wicket! Samantray run out 14 (11b, 2x4, 0x6): Total confusion and it results in an embarrassing run-out. Samantray is nowhere near the crease. SRH 127-7 after 19.3 overs. 2130: Wicket! Perera c Yagnik b Watson 11 (6b 1x4 1x6)  Perera out too! Watson’s made him slog, and the edge has carried to the keeper. SRH are stuttering at the death - on 113-6 after 18 overs. 2125: Run-out! Sammy run out 29 (21b 0x4 3x6): Phenomenal throw from substitute fielder Shukla and Sammy, who thought it would be a comfortable two, is gone. SRH 111-5 after 17.2 overs. 2122: Ah now some hitting! Two sixes — one from Perera and one from Sammy. That should get SRH going. It also takes them past the 100-run mark. SRH are 104-4 after 17 overs. 2114: Wicket! Dhawan c Trivedi b Faulkner 33 (39b 3x4 0x6) One time too many? Dhawan gets four with a fine reverse sweep and tries it again on the very next ball. This time, he can’t clear short fine-leg. SRH are 83-4 after 15.4 overs. 2110: Aaannnddd… SIX! Darren Sammy does what he’s been asked to do — up the run-rate, with a huge six over the on side. He tries a couple other times in the over too, but Watson has him shackled. SRH are 77-3 after 15 overs. 2100: The most expensive over so far has cost Rajasthan just nine runs. Since then, it has been very hard to score runs. Even with Dhawan around, Sunrisers have struggled. It’s 62-3 after 13 overs. 2252: Wicket! White c Cooper b Trivedi 31 (28b, 5x4, 0x6): Breakthrough! And Trivedi does it with his slow confusing pacers. White mistimes the shot while going for six, and Cooper is Mr. Safe Hands tonight. SRH are 55-3 after 11 overs. 2245: At the halfway stage and Sunrisers are 48-2. Cameron White is slowly getting into his stride — he’s played a lovely late cut for four. 2235: It’s slow. Very slow in fact. The last two overs have seen only one more four, White hooking it away. But with the bowling attack that Sunrisers boast of, a bad score can also look good. It’s 38-2 after eight overs. 2028: Four more and this time it’s off White’s bat, as he shifts to his back-foot to punch towards the boundary. It’s 27-2 after six overs. 2020: Four! Dhawan lifts the gloom with a glorious drive through the off-side. Pure timing, that. SRH are 12-2 after four overs. 2012: Wicket! Vihari c Cooper b Malik 1 (8b, 0x4, 0x6): My my! Vihari goes for the pull shot, the ball stops a bit and the mistimed shot ends up at short mid-on. Great start for RR and Malik too. It’s 3-2 after 2.3 overs. 2005: Wicket! Parthiv c Samson b Malik 1 (3b, 0x4, 0x6): Ooh early blow for SRH as Parthiv’s leading edge is taken. It’s 2-1 after an over. 2000: Vikramjeet Malik will open the bowling for Rajasthan Royals. “Irrespective of what happens off the field, the spirit in the team has been great. No one can say we didn’t enjoy our cricket,” says Rahul Dravid. Sunrisers Hyderabad have won the toss and will bat first. Preview: It will be a real test of character for the beleaguered Rajasthan Royals when they face an upbeat Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Eliminator of the Indian Premier League tonight. Since the ugly revelations of the spot-fixing scandal followed by the arrests of three of its players, including India international S Sreesanth, cricketing matters have taken a backseat for the champions of the first edition of the IPL. [caption id=“attachment_806031” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  One can expect the Sunrisers to be overwhelming favourites as they don’t have to deal with the demons of an ugly controversy that has shaken the cricketing establishment. BCCI[/caption] One can expect the Sunrisers to be overwhelming favourites as they don’t have to deal with the demons of an ugly controversy that has shaken the cricketing establishment. For Rajasthan Royals and especially their skipper Rahul Dravid, it will be a challenge to go out in the field shedding inhibitions and perform to the best of their abilities. For the Royals and their loyal band of supporters, a good performance at least can help them deflect the unwanted attention that is on them for the time being. Sunrisers Hyderabad: Kumar Sangakkara (C), Cameron White, Akshat Reddy, Amit Mishra, Anand Rajan, Ankit Sharma, Ashish Reddy, Biplab Samantray, Cameron White, Chris Lynn, Dale Steyn, Darren Sammy, Ravi Teja, Hanuma Vihari, Ishant Sharma, Karan Sharma, Nathan McCullum, Pathiv Patel, Prasant Padmanabhan, Quinton de Cock, Sachin Rana, Shikhar Dhawan, Sudeep Tyagi, T Sargunam, Thisara Perera and Veer Pratap Singh. Rajasthan Royals: Rahul Dravid (C), Ajinkya Rahane, Ashok Menaria, Brad Hodge, Brad Hogg, Dishant Yagnik, Fidel Edwards, Harmeet Singh, James Faulkner, Kevon Cooper, Kumar Boresa, Kushal Janith Perera, Owais Shah, Pravin Tambe, Rahul Shukla, Sachin Baby, Samuel Badree, Sanju Samson, Shane Watson, Shaun Tait, Shreevats Goswami, Sidharth Trivedi, Stuart Binny and Vikramjeet Malik. PTI