It was a stunning opening stand between Vaibahv Suryavanshi and Yasahsvi Jsiwal, which took Rajasthan to 85/0 in seven overs. But Rajasthan’s strong start took a hit as Aiden Markram dismissed Vaibhav Suryavanshi in the ninth over, followed by Nitish Rana’s wicket in the next. With Riyan Parag and Yashasvi Jaiswal steadying the chase, Rajasthan reached 135/2 in 15 overs, needing just 46 from the final five. Though Avesh Khan struck twice in the 18th over to remove both set batters, Shimron Hetmyer kept the chase alive, bringing the equation down to nine runs in the final over. Additionally, it was Shardul Thakur’s brilliance in the field that led to Shimron Hetmyer’s dismissal.
On the second ball of the final over, Avesh Khan bowled full and wide outside off. Hetmyer stepped out and went for a big swing, only to get a top edge that flew towards Shardul at deep backward point. Though he fumbled slightly, he quickly recovered and threw it back to Pant at the striker’s end. Sensing the need for a fielding change, Pant immediately moved Shardul from deep backwards point to square leg.
On the very next delivery, Avesh bowled a pitched-up delivery on the pad line. Hetmyer, deep in his crease, tried to flick it to the leg side but ended up hitting it straight into the hands of Shardul Thakur, who had just been repositioned for that exact shot. The Mumbai all-rounder was stunned as he completed the catch, and the Twitterverse erupted, celebrating the sharp tactical move.
Absolute Cinema!
— Deba (@Deba192240) April 19, 2025
Lord writes his own script 🤣🤣🤣#shardulthakur #RRvLSG #LSGvsRR #VaibhavSuryavanshi #TATAIPL2025
— S (@SJ4CSK) April 19, 2025
Mastermind!
Lord Thakur!
You can’t keep out lord from the action.
SHARDUL THAKUR 🔥🔥🔥#RRvLSG #ipl2025— Uttam Mahamiya (@UMahamiya) April 19, 2025
The ball caught Shardul Thakur.
— Gaurav Sethi (@BoredCricket) April 19, 2025
Yup!
Gone!
Avesh Khan to Shimron Hetmyer…
OUT! GONE!
Shardul Thakur takes the catch under pressure, and Hetmyer walks back!
RR still need 6 off the last 3 balls it’s going down to the wire!#RRvsLSG— Alexander. (@_TheNotGreat08) April 19, 2025
Shardul Thakur was moved to that spot because he did fumble for the first ball and then took a Catch next ball 🤣
— 🎰 (@StanMSD) April 19, 2025
Lord Thakur!
Wow. Rajasthan have made a total mess of this. Also tells you LSG would’ve won last time against CSK if Shardul Thakur hadn’t lost it in the end.
— Aadit Kapadia (@ask0704) April 19, 2025
Superb!
#RRvLSG Superb bowling by Shardul Thakur.
— Subbu Iyer / ಸುಬ್ಬು ಅಯ್ಯರ್ (@kskiyer) April 19, 2025
