NEW DELHI: Swashbuckling Shimron Hetmyer hogged the limelight with an incredible unbeaten 26-ball 56 blitz after Sanju Samson‘s attacking half-century as Rajasthan Royals pipped Gujarat Titans by three wickets in Ahmedabad.
The victory was Royals’ first ever over Titans in IPL as they also maintained the top spot after edging the hosts in a thriller.
Rampant Rajasthan now have 4 wins in 5 games while Gujarat keep their third spot on the points table.
Chasing a tricky 178, Rajasthan got off to a woeful start, losing openers Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal inside powerplay for single-digit scores. But skipper Samson rose to the occasion, firing a 32-ball 60. His partnerships with Devdutt Padikkal (26) and Hetmyer never allowed the asking rate to go out of control.
After Samson departed in the 15th over, Hetmyer added crucial 47 runs off just 20 balls with Dhruv Jurel (18) to take Royals closer. He then eventually took his side across the finish line with four balls to spare.