Rajasthan Royals beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 7 wickets to keep play-off hopes alive
Jaipur, Apr 27: Rajasthan Royals defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by seven wickets to end their home campaign on a winning note and theoretically keep alive their play-off chances in the ongoing Indian Premier League here Saturday.
Opting to bowl in a must-win match, Rajasthan first restricted Sunrisers to 160 for eight and then chased down the target in 19.1 overs.
By virtue of this win, Rajasthan have now moved to the sixth position in the eight-team standings with 10 points from 12 games.
But to stay in contention for a play-off berth, Rajasthan first must win their remaining two away games against Royal Challengers Bangalore on April 30 and Delhi Capitals on May 4 and then hope for favourable results from other matches.
Despite the loss, Sunrisers have just managed to hold to their fourth place in the table with 10 points from 11 games.
Chasing 161, Liam Livingstone (44 off 26) and Ajinkya Rahane (39 off 34) got Rajasthan off to a flying start with the former taking the attack to the opposition.
The duo raced off to 78 off 55 balls for the opening wicket, picking up 60 runs off the first six powerplay overs before Livingstone perished.
Livingstone was in a murderous mood as he didn't spare single Rajasthan bowler and struck four boundaries and three sixes during his explosive knock before departing in the 10th over, edging one to Wriddhiman Saha behind the stumps off Rashid Khan's (1/30) bowling.
An over later Rajasthan suffered yet another blow in the form of Rahane, caught by David Warner at long-off off Shakib Al Hasan (1/26).
Then Sanju Samson (48 not out off 32) and skipper Steve Smith (22) held fort and shared 55 runs in 5.3 overs to take Rajasthan within sniffing distance of win before the latter departed.
But by that time the damage had already been done for Sunrisers as Samson and Ashton Turner completed the formalities with ease.
Earlier, Manish Pandey hit a quick half-century before Sunrisers witnessed a middle-order collapse to be restricted to 160 for eight.
Sent into bat, Sunrisers got off too a good start even after the early dismissal of skipper Kane Williamson (13) with Warner and Manish Pandey sharing 75 runs off just 50 balls for the second wicket before losing the plot after the halfway stage.
Nicely placed 103 for one after 12 overs, Sunrisers lost their next seven wickets for just 44 runs before Rashid (17 not out off 8) played a short cameo towards the end to take the visitors to the 160-run mark.
Sunrisers lost Williamson early, cleaned up by Shreyas Gopal (2/30) with a googly in the fourth over.
Warner and Pandey then joined hands and played aggressively to stabilise the Sunrisers innings.
While Pandey was the aggressor of the two, Warner played the second fiddle.
Pandey reached his fifty in 27 balls with the help of eight fours but just when the partnership was looking threatening, a brilliant catch by Smith sent Warner packing.
Warner backed away a long way and tried to slap an Oshane Thomas (2/28) short delivery over extra cover but didn't time the shot perfectly and Smith ran back and dived full length to his right to hold on to a beautiful catch.
Warner's innings was a struggle as he scored 37 off 32 balls but failed to hit a single boundary.
Pandey continued his aggressive instinct and lofted Gopal over extra cover for an exquisite boundary. But the leg-spinner hand the last laugh as he dismissed Pandey in the very next ball, brilliantly caught by Samson as Sunrsiers slumped to 121 for three after 15 overs.
Pandey made a fine 61 off 36 balls with the help of nine boundaries.
Vijay Shankar (8) too perished cheaply, caught by Jaydev Unadkat off Varun Aaron (2/36) in the next over as the batsman went for a big shot.
Wickets kept on tumbling for Sunrisers after a fine first wicket stand between Warner and Pandey. The next to depart was Deepak Hooda for a duck caught one-handed off his own bowling by Unadkat (2/26) in the next over.
But Rashid took the onus on himself and garnered 18 runs off Aaron's final over to take Sunrisers to a respectable total.
Brief Scores:
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 160 for eight in 20 overs (Manish Pandey 61; Jaydev Unadkat 2/26).
Rajasthan Royals: 161 for three in 19.1 overs (Sanju Samson 48 not out, Liam Livingstone 44; Shakib Al Hasan 1/26).
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
