Rajasthan Royals will meet Mumbai Qualifier 2

Rajasthan Royals will meet Mumbai Indians in the 'IPL -2013 Qualifier 2', a battle to decide who meets Chennai Super Kings in the big final at the Eden Gardens this month. It was a result they can almost totally thanks to Hodge's 29-ball 54, inclusive of 5 sixes, two of which came off Darren Sammy last over with 10 run needed to win.

Chasing the 133 target they were set by Hyderabad, Royals were jolted as they lost 4 wickets for 7 runs in the face of some tight spin bowling by Amit Mishra and Karan Sharma. Captain Rahul Dravid was passed out after a brief counter-attack against Dale Steyn, and the slump in the center left Royals needing 60 off the last 7 overs, with Hodge and Sanju Samson in the middle.

Darren Sammy had earlier plucked an impossible, high catch at the boundary of Shane Watson (24) to turn the tide. Dishant Yagnik (0) played a horrible shot against the West Indian captain, and Mishra fooled Ajinkya Rahane (18) into a caught-and-bowled. But it turned out to be a false dawn for the Sunrisers as, for once; they failed to defend a 130-odd score.

Dhawan followed suit, hitting James Faulkner straight to short well leg chasing a successive boundary, and it was left to Sammy and Thisara Perera to swing crucial sixes as Hyderabad accrued 65 in the last 6 overs. Sammy 21-ball 29 ensured that Hyderabad breached their usually defensible score in the vicinity of 130. 

Score Details 

Sunrisers Hyderabad-132/7(20)

Highest Score
S Dhawan -33
D.Sammy-29
Best Bowling
V Malik-2(14)

Rajasthan Royals-133/6(19.2)

Highest Score
B Hodge-54
Watson-24
Best Bowling
D Sammy-2(27)

Player of the match- B Hodge

Jaipur match Rajasthan Thriller Win pune out

Both teams started well with the bat, but the difference between the Rajasthan Royals and Pune Warriors was in the finishing. That's the reason why the hosts managed to maintain their unbeaten record at home.

They went to fourth in the points table, for which they should thank their batsmen. It wasn’t a match where the winner could afford to blink.

Chasing a mammoth 179-run target, Rajasthan’s openers Rahul Dravid and Ajinkya Rahane played all the right shots as Aaron Finch’s bowlers began to flinch. Both right-handers knew that they had a mountain to climb, and they ensured that Pune’s bowlers were beaten to the ropes.

If Dravid drove with élan, Rahane cut the ball with equal finesse as Rajasthan made sure that they were never too far behind the run rate.

Score Details

Pune Warriors India- 178/4 (20) 

R Uthappa -54(41)
A Finch (C)-45(32)
M Marsh -35(21)

Rajasthan-182/5 (19.5)

A Rahane -67(48)
R Dravid -58(40)
S Binny -35(13)

Player Of the match-A.Rahane