Just when Rajasthan Royals thought they had secured the win, the no-ball signal cut short their celebrations and the game turned on its head, as Abdul Samad sent the 'free hit' delivery for a six to reverse the result in favour of Sunrisers Hyderabad in their IPL game in Jaipur on Sunday.
The home team felt gutted after a victory was snatched away from them, with their skipper Sanju Samson reflecting that the nature of T20 cricket is such that "you can't step the line at that point of time."
Defending 17 runs off the final over, Sandeep Sharma looked up at the sky in celebration after 'dismissing' Samad off the last ball, but to his horror, it turned out to be a no-ball.
Sharma's mistake cost the Royals the match as Abdul Samad punished him with a six over his head to pull off an incredible four-wicket win for the Sunrisers in a dramatic finish.
"This is what IPL gives you. Matches like these make the IPL special. You can never feel like you have won the game. I knew any opponent can win it and they were batting well too, but I was confident with Sandeep (defending the final over).
"He has won us a game from a similar situation (against CSK). He did it again today but that no-ball ruined our result," Samson said at the post-match presentation.
Asked how he felt after the last ball was called a no-ball, Samson said: "Nothing much, it's a no ball, just have to bowl it again as simple as that, you don't think about it too much.
SRH vs RR, IPL 2023: Sunrisers Hyderabad beat Rajasthan Royals in last-ball thriller
"Sandeep knows what to do. Maybe there might be a small change in mindset for a few seconds when you feel that the job is done, everyone was celebrating but I think that's the nature of this game, you can't step the line at that point of time."
It was RR's fourth loss in last five matches.
Asked about his thoughts moving forward in the tournament, he said: "To be honest life is never easy playing this format, especially this tournament. Each and every game we have to play our best standard of cricket. We will come back and try to do it again."
'EMOTIONS TURNED QUITE QUICKLY'
With SRH scripting the highest chase ever at this venue, skipper Aiden Markram was a happy man.
"Emotions turned quite quickly, nice for us to get over the line. Chasing 215 isn't easy, and guys contributed all along to chase a big target. We knew in a quick outfield like this we'll score more than expected, but we had to be aggressive," he said.
"Abhishek started up off, and then Tripathi gave him company. Then those cameos from Phillips and Klaasy. (On Samad's finishing skills) I think you got to train it, and put yourself under pressure. You are playing high risk cricket, so that's where technique comes in."
Glenn Phillips was adjudged the Player of the Match for his 25 off 7 balls which included three successive sixes.
"It was a situation where it was going to go one of two ways. Happy to go out on top of this one. We are all here to do our job, this is what the team needed today. Fantastic for it to pay off," he said.
"I felt I left a lot out there with 17 needed off the final over, but then Samad did what he did and obviously we got that little bit of luck with the no ball."
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Despite the defeat, RR remained at the fourth position on the table with 10 points, while SRH went up a spot to No. 9. Howevever, the chances of Sunrisers making it to the playoffs remain very slim.
(With agency inputs)
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