Royals fall short in a thriller

So close, yet so far. The game of cricket is a game of margins, they say. The Royals needed 2 runs off the last ball. Rovman Powell, after fighting tooth and nail to get the Royals home, trapped plumb in front. They went upstairs but there was no inside edge and three reds confirmed his dismissal. Take a bow, Powell. That was a heroic effort, and to end up on the losing end is heartbreaking, to say the least. This was the Royals' match to lose all along, but a couple of wickets here and there and the momentum completely shifted in the favour of the home team. RR lost by a solitary run and that too in the last ball. 

4000 runs for Hetmyer in T20s

Five overs remaining: RR need 45 runs

Shimron Hetmyer joins Parag as he continues to go strong after his 50 and finding boundaries at will. RR is in sight of this chase as they move to 157/3 at the end of 15 overs.

From 1/2 to 135/3 - take a bow, YBJ!

He dug in, and he dug in really hard. Took his time to get going, scored his half-century on the way, swat-batted the SRH bowlers around the park, 7 fours and 2 sixes in that innings with a strike rate of 160 when his team needed it the most. Yashasvi Jaiswal has brought the Royals within touching distance of the finish line alongside an able partner in Riyan Parag. He perishes on 67 but that’s a knock for the ages. The calm, the composure, yet the aggression in his shots - a sight to behold.

Milestone Man: Riyan Parag

14.2 overs: With that double, Riyan Parag completes 1000 runs for the Royals in the IPL. Made his debut in IPL 2019 as a 17-year-old and the Royals continue to put their weight behind the youngster. What an innings this has been and that too in a high-pressure run chase. Moves ahead of Sanju Samson and becomes RR's highest run-scorer in IPL this season. He is also in sight of eclipsing his highest score of 84* in the IPL, which he scored against Delhi Capital this season. RR 145/3. 

Strategic Timeout

7 overs to go, Royals need 70 to win. The required run rate is 10, and both Riyan and Yashasvi are well ahead of that with their century stand. They're punishing the bad balls with boundaries, and are rotating the strike smartly here. By the looks of it, there should be no trouble for the visitors to chase this down. RR 132/2 after 13 overs

Halfway down: RR 100/2

The Royals have clawed their way back nicely in this run-chase. Both Jaiswal and Parag complete their half-centuries and continue to get big overs consistently as they amass 40 runs from the last four overs. This partnership is turning the match in the Royals' favour as the crowd goes silent with their onslaught. RR is in the driving seat as they need 102 off the last 10 overs with eight wickets in hand.

50 sixes for Parag in the IPL

8.2 overs: Parag smokes one from Cummins over square leg. What a wonderful shot to bring his 50th six in IPL with 23 of them coming in IPL 2024 alone. The partnership goes past 80. RR 87/2.

End of Powerplay: RR 60/2 

50-run partnership up between Yashasvi Jaiswal and Riyan Parag as the Royals end the Powerplay on a high. It wasn't the best of starts for them, with Bhuvneshwar taking out both Jos Buttler and skipper Sanju in the opening over. Both the young guns, after getting dropped by SRH fielders, have taken it upon themselves to resurrect this chase, with some gorgeous counterattack and stroke-making. They've done it before, on different occasions and they certainly have the potential and hunger for it. The wicket still looks good for batting, despite the regular swing on offer for the pacers. SRH too lost their first two wickets inside the Powerplay, but then their third-wicket stand ensured they were well on course for a big total. The Royals need this explosive duo to stay at the crease, for as long as they possibly can. This match is ON!

Good over for the Royals

Riyan Parag hits a six and two fours of Bhuvneshwar Kumar to help the Royals get back among the runs. 15 runs off that over as RR move to 21/2 after three.

Update on Dhruv Jurel

Walked off the field in the first innings with a hamstring concern, but he's back in the dugout and is padded up. Relief for the Royals considering the two early wickets. They need to get a move on from this as quickly as possible...

Impact Substitute for Royals

Jos Buttler comes in as the impact substitute in place of Yuzvendra Chahal who will play no further part in this game. The Englishman walks out with Yashasvi Jaiswal to kickstart the Royals chase. They have won all their run-chases so far in IPL 2024.

Royals need 202 to win

SRH end at 201/3 after 20 overs. Avesh Khan disimissed both openers as he finished with 2/39 from his four overs. Sandeep Sharma picked up a wicket conceding only 31 runs. The Royals have the batting depth to eclipse SRH's total on a good pitch.

Boult finishes his spell

Boult bowls out his fourth as he concedes only 33 runs in his spell at just over eight runs an over. The Royals would take it any day, especially against a batting lineup of SRH, with Klaasen and Nitish Reddy in the middle. The left-arm pacer created an opportunity in the first over but was unlucky not to get a wicket. He doesn't concede a single six in his spell, extraordinary given the conditions. SRH 186/3 after 19 overs.

Avesh sends Head packing, but not before some drama

This has been a rather bizarre over. Avesh kept targeting that channel outside off to Head, almost as if he'd planned his dismissal. A couple of wides and a six later, Head played a dot ball, but went fishing outside his crease. Sanju, with his quick hands, threw the ball straight to the stumps, the bails lit up, and it looked like Head was in danger. They went upstairs but the umpire shockingly gave it not out. The Royals dugout was furious, they had every right to be as the bat looked visibly mid-air and not grounded. Regardless, Avesh comes back quickly to get him the next ball, this time Head plays on and the bails are dislodged. No further damage was done here but this incident will be a talking point tonight. SRH 131/3 after 15 overs.

Halfway Stage: SRH 75/2

Jurel pulls his hamstring as he chases the ball from deep mid-wicket. Doesn't look good as he walks off with some difficulty. SRH fight back as they score 27 off the last two overs. Avesh and Sandeep have a wicket each as Ashwin bowls an economic spell conceding just 20 off his three overs.

Another quiet over from Sandeep

Sandeep Sharma bowls yet another tight over as SRH are getting tied down here. Seven runs off the seventh over by Chahal and now just four off this. The Royals bowlers sticking to their plans so far, not giving any room whatsoever to the SRH batters to free their arms. In what was predicted as a belter of a surface, SRH are struggling at 48/2 after eight overs. A bowling masterclass in an IPL season that has been dominated by the willow-wielders.

300 T20 matches for Yuzi Chahal

He's been there, he's done that. And he's seen it all. Purple cap? No problem. Leading the overall wicket tally in the IPL? Sure. Breaking down the doors down on his way into India's T20 World Cup? Check that too.

End of Powerplay: SRH 37/2

This time it's Sandeep Sharma. Another wicket off the first ball in the last over of the powerplay. What a start this has been for the Royals. Swings one in and Anmolpreet finds Yashasvi Jaiswal at short mid-wicket and he completes a great catch. The seamer picks his 59th wicket in the powerplay in IPL. Just two runs in the sixth over from Sandeep.

Avesh Khan draws first blood!

4.1 overs: A 4-run over from Ashwin and a close DRS call for Head brings a wicket on the first ball of the 5th over. Avesh Khan comes in and gets into the act straightaway. No big celebration, just a smile on his face as Abhishek Sharma pulls a short one into the deep, where Dhruv Jurel makes no mistake and completes a safe catch. The Royals are off the mark and this is one of SRH's slowest Powerplay starts of the season... SRH 25/1.

Ashwin almost gets Head

In his second over with the new ball Ashwin gives a scare to Travis Head as he survives a close DRS call. Ashwin is pulling all the tricks out of his bag. Both batters are struggling against the Royals spinner.

Head vs Ashwin: H2H before this match

3 innings
7 runs
0 wickets

An eventful first over from Boult

Almost had a wicket on the first ball of the innings! Travis Head went swinging wildly, the ball racing past the backward point where Riyan Parag tried to pouch it but to no avail. Heads got his first boundary, but Boult followed it up with some tight stump-to-stump to concede just 2 more runs to finish. He is backed well by Ravichandran Ashwin who concedes just eight runs and comes back strongly after getting hit for six off the second ball.

Playoffs Qualification

The Royals are on top of the IPL points table with 16 points and are close to booking their date with the playoffs. With a win here, the Royals will be within touching distance. 

SRH vs RR head-to-head

In the SRH vs RR head-to-head record, both the Royals and the Sunrisers have won nine games each. For more details click here.

SRH vs RR Playing XI

Rajasthan Royals Playing XI: Sanju Samson (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Avesh Khan, Sandeep Sharma, Yuzvendra Chahal

RR Impact Substitutes: Jos Buttler, Tanush Kotian, Shubham Dubey, Navdeep Saini, Tom Kohler-Cadmore

Riyan Parag comes into the eleven in place of Jos Buttler who moves to the Impact Substitutes. 

SRH vs RR Toss

The Sunrisers skipper Pat Cummins wins the toss, and elects to bat first.

"We also wanted to bat here looking at the conditions, but we have to be happy with what we have", said the Royals captain Sanju Samson.

Six out of eight wins for the Royals this season have come in run-chases.

SRH vs RR Pitch Report

"It is a lovely evening, not too hot, not too sweaty, this will be a very good one to play cricket," says Graeme Swann.

"It is such a good pitch to bat on, there is going to be very little help for the spinners, maybe the quicker bowlers will get more carry because of the harder surface. But this is a pitch where you can expect a lot of runs," adds Sunil Gavaskar.

Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium - IPL 2024

Out of three matches hosted by the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium so far in IPL 2024, teams batting first have won twice with the chasing team winning once. The Sunrisers have won two of their three home games with the mammoth 277/3 they scored against Mumbai Indians being the highest score here this year.

The Royals are yet to lose away from home this season with wins at Mumbai, Punjab, Kolkata and Lucknow.

Royals' top performers in IPL 2024

Skipper Sanju Samson leads the way for the Royals with 385 runs from nine matches including four fifties, the joint-most in IPL 2024. He averages 77.00 with the bat and strikes at 161.08. Apart from Samson, Riyan Parag, with three fifties, has scored 332 runs from eight outings to the crease and averages 55.33 with a strike rate of 159.61. 

Yuzvendra Chahal with 13 wickets and Trent Boult with 10 wickets from nine matches have shared the spoils in the bowling department. 

Samson has been the Royals' best batter against the Sunrisers with 791 runs from 21 matches whereas Chahal has 28 wickets from 19 matches against SRH and is the Royals' most successful bowler in this fixture.

Welcome to the SRH vs RR live blog

Hello all, and good evening from Hyderabad! It’s Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League 2024 today at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. Rajasthan Royals meet Sunrisers Hyderabad for the first time in IPL 2024 as they are unbeaten away from home this season. The Royals continue their reign at the top of the IPL 2024 points table with 16 points from nine matches. Stay tuned for the complete Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Rajasthan Royals timeline here.