Riyan Parag smashed 77 in 49 balls as powered Rajasthan Royals' chase on Thursday with Yashasvi Jaiswal against Sunrisers Hyderabad, an innings that has helped him go up to fourth on the Orange Cap table in the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL). Parag joined Jaiswal in the first over of the match itself after Bhuvneshwar Kumar dismissed Jos Buttler and captain Sanju Samson for ducks. The pair then put up a stand of 134 runs off just 78 balls that helped RR recover from the disastrous start and eventually get within two runs of the target of 202 set by SRH.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar did the star turn with a sensational final over as Sunrisers Hyderabad pulled off a heist, stunning Rajasthan Royals by just one run in a last-ball thriller to keep their IPL playoff hopes alive, here on Thursday.

Needing two to win off the last delivery, Bhuvneshwar (3/41) trapped Rovman Powell (27) with a full toss to leave RR stranded at 200 for seven while chasing a target of 202. Opting to bat, Nitish Reddy (76 not out) and Travis Head (58) produced explosive fifties, while Heinrich Klassen made an unbeaten 19-ball 42 to power Sunrisers Hyderabad to 201 for three.

Things were looking up when Bhuvneshwar removed Jos Buttler and Sanju Samson for ducks in the opening over to leave RR at 1 for 2. However, youngsters Yashasvi Jaiswal (67) and Riyan Parag (77) came up with counterattacking fifties on way to a massive 134-run partnership to lay the foundation of the runchase.

The Orange Cap table after SRH vs RR

Parag's tally has gone up to 409 runs in nine innings at a strike rate of 159.14 and average of 58.43. He thus overtook LSG captain KL Rahul, who is on 406 runs in 10 innings at a strike rate of 142.95 and average of 40.60. CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad remains top of the table, having ended Virat Kohli's reign during their match against the Punjab Kings. GT's Sai Sudharsan is third.

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