Shimron Hetmyer hit an unbeaten fifty to steer the Rajasthan Royals to a three-wicket win over the defending champions, the Gujarat Titans in their Indian Premier League (IPL) encounter on Sunday.
Chasing 178 runs to win, Hetmyer and skipper Sanju Samson hit half-centuries as the Rajasthan Royals chased the target with four balls to spare.
WHAT. A. GAME! ?? ??
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 16, 2023
A thrilling final-over finish and it's the @rajasthanroyals who edge out the spirited @gujarat_titans! ?? ??
Scorecard ??https://t.co/nvoo5Sl96y#TATAIPL | #GTvRR pic.twitter.com/z5kN0g409n
The Royals found themselves in trouble early with the loss of their opening pair, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler, and saw them reeling at 4-2.
Samson shared a 59-run stand with Heymyer as the duo helped keep the Royals above the run rate.
Samson scored 60 off 32 balls (hitting three fours and six sixes) before he was caught by a sprinting Miller off the bowling of Noor Ahmad.
.@IamSanjuSamson led from the front for @rajasthanroyals in the chase and was our top performer from the second innings of the #GTvRR match ?? ?? #TATAIPL
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 16, 2023
Here's his batting summary ?? pic.twitter.com/FfMfdg7uUB
Hetmyer stood tall and smashed five sixes and two fours in his unbeaten 56 off just 26 balls to help take the Rajasthan Royals to victory.
For his 2?6?-ball5?6?*-run blitz, @SHetmyer wins the Player of the Match award as @rajasthanroyals beat #GT ?? ??
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 16, 2023
Scorecard ?? https://t.co/nvoo5Sl96y #TATAIPL | #GTvRR pic.twitter.com/69ZiQzPpRj
Mohammed Shami was the pick of the Gujarat bowlers as he took three for 25.
MILLER TOP SCORESF OR TITANS
In a rematch of last season's IPL final, the Royals exacted revenge in Ahmedabad as they moved to the top of the IPL log.
Earlier on, after being sent to bat first, Proteas batter Miller top-scored to steer the Gujarat Titans to 177-7 in their allotted 20 overs.
The Titans got off to a shaky start when Trent Boult caught and bowled Wriddhiman Saha in the third ball of the match and shortly thereafter, Sai Sudharsan was run out for 20.
A 59-run partnership formed between skipper Hardik Pandya and Shubman Gill before Pandya holed out to long-on off the bowling of Yuzvendra Chahal for 28.
Gill scored 45 off 35 balls (hitting four fours and a six) before he was caught in the deep off the bowling of Sandeep Sharma.
Miller then shared a 45-run stand with Abhinav Manohar (27) before he top-edged to cover to give Adam Zampa his only wicket.
Miller made 46 off 30 balls (hitting three fours and two sixes) before he was caught in the deep attempting to get a maximum off Sharma.
Sharma ended as the pick of the Rajasthan Royals attack, taking two for 25.
GUJARAT TITANS: Wriddhiman Saha, Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Hardik Pandya (captain), Abhinav Manohar, Rahul Tewatia, David Miller, Alzarri Joseph, Rashid Khan, Mohammad Shami, Mohit Sharma
RAJASTHAN ROYALS: Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (captain), Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Adam Zampa, Sandeep Sharma, Yuzvendra Chahal