The Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad was geared up for a run-fest.
The home crowd was treated to a brilliant run chase as Sunrisers Hyderabad scripted its highest successful run chase in the history of IPL against Rajasthan Royals.
It was just not the batsmen who blazed away in chase of 199 but the day also belonged to one of T20's finest craftsmen - Rashid Khan, who revealed that he "has five different leg-spin variations with different actions."
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Sizzling Samson hits ton
Representing Delhi Daredevils, Samson scored his first IPL century in 2017 against Rising Pune Supergiants. In 2018, he was roped in by Rajasthan Royals for a whopping INR 8 Crore and the Kerala wicket-keeper batsman proved his worth by amassing 441 runs with an unbeaten 92 as his highest. He, however, couldn't reach the three-figure mark in that season.
In the 2019 season, a red-hot Samson made his second IPL hundred but ended up on the losing side. His unbeaten 102 off 55 balls set the tone as along with skipper Ajinkya Rahane, Samson forged a 119-run partnership.
Royals chained
While Samson was in full flow, the rest of the batsmen failed to maintain the tempo. While Skipper Rahane made a 49-ball 70, the Royals failed to tee off in the last five overs with Rashid Khan spinning a web. Exactly giving a run-a-ball, Rashid bowled beautifully in his four overs, giving just 24 runs and accounting the wicket of the dangerous Jos Buttler.
Rashid would later go on to display fireworks with the bat. The idea of not taking early risks and banking on late surge backfired as the Powerplay yielded just 35 runs. However, Samson's stunning knock helped Royals set a stiff target of 199 runs.
Warner goes bang-bang
It was business as usual for David Warner. Two clicks on the gloves straps and Warner was up and running. The southpaw came out all guns blazing as he scored his 38th IPL fifty off just 26 balls and placed Sunrisers on the highway. Warner's 37-ball 69 gave Hyderabad the speed as Jonny Bairstow with a 28-ball 45 pressed on the accelerator.
Warner departed after a century stand with Bairstow and although Rajasthan made inroads with the wickets of Bairstow, Kane Williamson and Manish Pandey, Hyderabad had the luxury of its batting depth.
Rashid, Vijay seal the chase
Jolted by a mini-collapse, Vijay Shankar (35, 15b, 1x4, 3x6) played a perfect cameo as he steadied the innings and along with Yusuf Pathan brought the chase back on track. But it was Rashid (15, 8b, 1x4, 1x6), who sealed the chase.
With 12 required off 12, Rashid smacked Jofra Archer for a boundary through the covers and then sealed the game with a six over square leg as Sunrisers gunned down the target with an over to spare.
Brief scores: Rajasthan Royals 198/2 (Samson 102*, Rahane 70, Rashid 1-24) lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad 201/5 (Warner 69, Bairstow 45, Shreyas Gopal 3-27) by five wickets.
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