• Maharaj makes IPL debut in thriller

    Published on

    Proteas spinner Keshav Maharaj made his IPL debut for the Rajasthan Royals in a last-ball, three-wicket defeat to the Gujarat Titans on Wednesday.

    Maharaj was used as an impact substitute, but bowled just two overs, conceding 16 runs, as the Royals’ four-match winning streak came to an end.

    While Rajasthan cling on to their table-topping position above the Kolkata Knight Riders, the Titans clawed their way back to a dramatic victory in the final five overs, needing 73 off the final 30 balls.

    The pressure fell on the shoulders of bowling all-rounder Rashid Khan from Afghanistan to win the match on the final ball โ€“ thumping it to the boundary for four to end on top with 199-7.

    “You just have to be positive,” Rashid said. “The more positive you are thinking inside, the better the result comes out.”

    Asked where the Royals had lost, captain Sanju Samson laughed and said “the last ball of the game”, adding it was “very hard” to speak after the defeat.

    But he still handed out praise for the Titans’ play.

    “You have to give credit to the Gujarat Titans, to the way they batted, bowled and fielded,” Samson said.

    Rajasthan had looked confident going into the game, after being invited to bat first at their home ground in Jaipur.

    After initial wobbles, with Yashasvi Jaiswal caught on 24, and England’s Jos Buttler going for eight, 22-year-old Riyan Parag helped build a daunting total.

    He celebrated his third fifty in five innings, this time in a knock off 34 balls.

    Parag fell for 74 to a juggled but successful catch by Vijay Shankar.

    But Samson, who made 68, and Shimron Hetmyer, unbeaten on 13, guided Rajasthan to 196-3 โ€“ keeping their hopes that they were heading for their fifth straight victory alive.

    As Gujarat came into bat, the Royals seemed to have taken charge, with the chase crumbling as speedster Kuldeep Sen ripped through the Titans’ top order, posting figures of 3-41.

    Sen trapped Sai Sudharsanย lbw for 35 before bowlingย Matthew Wade and Abhinav Manohar cheaply.

    “We lost a few wickets back-to-back”, said Gujarat’s Sudharsan. “But we had belief and we won the game.”

    Captain Shubman Gill made 72 to push Gujarat’s total up before being stumped, while Rahul Tewatia made 22 before he was run out.

    But it was Rashid who brought the Titans across the winning threshold, making 24 in the frantic final balls.

    “This victory was much-needed for us and gives us momentum,” Sudharsan added. “Hopefully we play a few more good games and have a good season.”

    ยฉ Agence France-Presse

    Post by

    Simon Borchardt