JAIPUR, India, CMC – West Indies fast bowler Oshane Thomas grabbed two wickets to help his Rajasthan Royals to a comfortable seven-wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad and keep their playoff hopes alive in the Indian Premier League.
Bowling at the top of the order, Thomas ended with 2-28 from his four overs, including the prized scalp of opener David Warner, as Sunrisers were limited to 160 for eight from their 20 overs.
All three of the Royals’ top order batsmen then made solid contributions as they eased to 161 for three off 19.1 overs.
It took a huge bowling effort from Thomas and the Royals’ bowling cast to restrict Hyderabad to their eventual total.
Through the efforts of Manish Pandey, who made 61 from 36 balls and Warner who made 37, Hyderabad had seemed set to post a large total after rushing to 103 for one inside 13 overs.
But just as it seemed Hyderabad was preparing for a strong finish, Thomas, who was recently named in the West Indies 15-man squad for the World Cup, struck to dismiss Warner.
He had Warner caught by a diving Steve Smith following a wild slash by the batsman.
His dismissal triggered a collapse with Hyderabad losing their next five wickets for just 34 runs, as only Rashid Khan who finished unbeaten on 17 being the only other double digit contributor.
Ajinkya Rahane then stroked 44, Liam Livingstone made 44 and Sanju Samson scored an unbeaten 48 from 32 balls to guide Royals to victory with five balls to spare.
