Rahane inspires Rajasthan Royals in low-scoring tie against Sunrisers Hyderabad

The opener's anchor knock and Stuart Binny's support role with an unbeaten 48 proved vital in a match where none other batsmen applied themselves.

Ajinkya Rahane took his time to get going but made it count in the end for Rajasthan. Ravindranath K / The National

Hyderabad 133-6 (20 ov)

Rajasthan 135-6 (19.3 ov)

Toss: Rajasthan, chose to field

Hyderabad: Dhawan 38; Bhatia 2-22, Kulkarni 2-23

Rajasthan: Rahane 59, Binny 48; Mishra 2-26, Steyn 2-29

Man of the match: Ajinkya Rahane (Rajasthan)

ABU DHABI // Abu Dhabi was witness to each end of the spectrum of Twenty20 chases on Friday at the Zayed stadium. Having been charged up by an adrenalin rush of a chase in the day game, spectators were treated to a nervy, faltering low-score chase as the sun – and temperatures – went down.

Glenn Maxwell led an audacious King’s XI Punjab chase of 205 against Chennai Super Kings in searing temperatures in the first game. Hours later, on what felt like an entirely different surface, Stuart Binny and Ajinkya Rahane dragged Rajasthan Royals over the line against the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the final over.

The evening result was a slow-burner; only at the very beginning and end of the chase did the result feel in serious doubt. But it was ultimately deserved reward for Rajasthan’s bowlers who, on a strange, grassy pitch that slowed down considerably, had bowled with great discipline to restrict Hyderabad to six boundaries and two sixes in their total of 133.

Dhawal Kulkarni, Kane Richardson and Rajat Bhatia all took pace off the ball to strangle Hyderabad. The tone was set in the first over when one of the men capable of making surfaces redundant, Aaron Finch, fell.

Shikhar Dhawan and David Warner promised a bit, consolidating with a 75-run stand but it never went beyond that. In fact, just when the pair might have harboured hopes of breaking free, they fell. Dhawan went first, sweeping Bhatia to square leg and Warner followed soon after. The rest of the innings meandered as every Rajasthan bowler excelled.

The chase should have been straightforward but Hyderabad have an attack to envy. Dale Steyn and Bhuvneshwar Kumar found extravagant outswing to throttle a swift start. Both picked up a wicket and when Ishant Sharma sent back Shane Watson in the seventh over, Rajasthan were tottering at 31 for three.

Rahane was struggling to time the ball and was dropped on eight in the fourth over. But he held on and, in Binny, found equal, dogged resistance. The mood of the game turned on the halfway mark; Binny pulled Darren Sammy for a four and a six, before Rahane swept Amith Mishra for four.

Those two overs produced only 20 but in the context of the game, they had struck gold. Their resolve duly stiffened, Rahane even hit two boundaries from Steyn, bringing up his 50 in the process.

Mishra engineered a late wobble dismissing Rahane and Brad Hodge in five balls, for one run. But Binny was unfazed and two more fours off Steyn kept them just on top. They needed eight off the last over and James Faulkner cooly struck two boundaries to complete a needlessly tense chase.

“We bowled extremely well to restrict such a batting order,” Rajasthan’s captain Shane Watson said. “The wicket changed, the ball swung more and seamed more. Ajinkya did a brilliant job to build a partnership at a crucial time.”

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