IPL 2013 Photos

Rajasthan Royals: Happy days are here again!

May 23, 2013 11:21

The inaugural champions of the Indian Premier League made it to the top-3 of the 2013 edition by beating Sunrisers Hyderabad by 4 wickets at Feroz Shah Kotla in the IPL playoff 'eliminator' on Wednesday, May 22, 2013

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Rahul Dravid came into the all-important Eliminator with a baggage of spot-fixing controversy hanging on his team Rajasthan Royals. A grand entry onto the field was given to the players at the start of the innings. (BCCI image)
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Despite the Sunrisers vs Rajasthan being a nuetral match in the Indian Premier League, the Delhi crowd gave ample support to the two teams in action on May 22 at the Feroz Shah Kotla. (BCCI image)
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Medium pacer Vikramjeet Malik gave the Royals a good start with the ball as he removed in-form Parthiv Patel and Hanuma Vihari cheaply inside the first three overs. (BCCI image)
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Shikhar Dhawan got off to a sedate start but later he played some delightful strokes. Dhawan went on to score 33 runs in 39 balls. (BCCI image)
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Darren Sammy provided the much-needed impetus to Sunrisers' innings with his 21-ball 29 that was laced with three huge sixes. (BCCI image)
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Shane Watson, as usual got Rajasthan Royals up and running against a strong bowling attack. He attacked spinner Karan Sharma straightaway, but later he fell to the same bowler when his pull could not clear a jumping Darren Sammy at the mid-wicket boundary. (BCCI image)
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The fall of Watson's wicket led to a period of play which was dominated by the Hyderabad bowlers. Rajasthan saw themselves slump to 57 for 5 in a chase of 133 runs. (BCCI image)
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What the Sunrisers did not realise was that T20 veteran Brad Hodge had saved his best knock for this crucial match. Hodge's 54 came in just 29 balls and he hit five huge sixes to not only turn the match but win in some style for the Rajasthan Royals. (BCCI image)
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A heart-breaking 4 wicket loss saw Hyderabad end their campaign as the fourth best team in this year's competition. The tournament's newest team had done well to win 10 games in the league stage to make it to playoffs. Team mentors Kris Srikkanth and VVS Laxman had worked with the team throughout the tournament. (BCCI image)
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What the win did for Rajasthan was to bring the much-needed smiles back on the players' faces after a hard week. Dravid greets Hodge and is ecstatic at the prospect of playing the Qualifier 2 against Mumbai Indians at the Eden Gardens. (BCCI image)
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Shilpa Shetty was once again seen jumping and dancing at the Feroz Shah Kotla as she was releaved to see her side Rajasthan Royals win the 2013 IPL's eliminator against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. (BCCI image)
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A smiling Rahul Dravid poses with 1983 World Cup winning captain Kapil Dev after his team Rajasthan Royals completed a 4-wicket win over Hyderabad on Wednesday, May 22, 2013. (BCCI image)

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