Abdul Samad hits a sensational six off Sandeep Sharma’s attempted yorker, and SRH’s decision to persist with him pays off as he seals the game under immense pressure. Samad’s shot was perfectly timed as he stayed deep in the crease and launched the ball over the bowler’s head for a flat six.
The result was somewhat anticlimactic, but it was a thrilling victory for SRH. The successful chase also sets new records for the highest chase by SRH and the highest chase at this venue.
“When faced with lemons, make lemonade” goes the old adage. And when an unexpected no-ball comes your way on the final delivery of a match, you smoke it over the bowler’s head for six and secure a thrilling victory for your team, just as Abdul Samad did in this game!
With this win, SRH have managed to keep their hopes alive in the competition, but only just… It was a record-breaking chase at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium, initiated by SRH’s impact substitute Anmolpreet who struck a few hefty blows during the powerplay before succumbing to Yuzi’s spin.
However, this proved to be the foundation for Abhishek Sharma and Rahul Tripathi who both delivered with the bat today. These two Indian talents played valuable innings, with Sharma scoring a half-century and Tripathi just falling short of that milestone.
Despite their efforts, they struggled to score quickly enough, and the required target continued to climb. But SRH were able to produce two timely cameos, the first from Klaasen who took on the spinners with a quick 12-ball 26 and then from Glenn Phillips who breathed new life into the game when it seemed all but over.
Hyderabad were well behind the pace, needing 41 runs from the last two overs. But Phillips’ hat-trick of sixes against Kuldip Yadav gave them a much-needed lifeline.