GT vs RR, IPL 2023: Sanju Samson, Shimron Hetmyer Shine As Rajasthan Royals Consolidate Top Spot With 3-Wicket Win Over Gujarat Titans

West Indies batter Shimron Hetmyer unleased his full fury on Gujarat Titans as Rajasthan Royals defeated the reigning champions by three wickets with four balls remaining in an Indian Premier League match on Sunday. With the win, the Royals have broken the jinx of not having previously beaten the Hardik Pandya-led side in three outings and topped the table with eight points. The victory will be all the more sweet considering the 2008 IPL champions were reduced to 4 for 2 at one stage, losing Yashasvi Jaiswal (4) and Jos Buttler (0), and were able to manage just 26 runs in powerplay.

The 26-year-old Hetmyer turned the complexion of the game, smashing an unbeaten 26-ball 56. The knock was studded with two fours and five maximums, and came at a time when things looked uphill for the Sanju Samson-led side.

Samson blazed away to 60 off 32 balls.

Pacers Mohammed Shami and Hardik Pandya had bowled well as Gujarat Titans made early inroads and pushed the Royals into a tight corner.

With 177 not looking like an imposing total to defend by any yardstick -- against a team packed with batting stars like Buttler, Jaiswal, Samson and Devdutt Padikkal -- the best option for Shami and Pandya was to make the ball talk.

Long after Shubman Gill (45) and Pandya (28) had come together to pull the Titans out of trouble with their 59-run partnership, the skipper bowled tirelessly in tandem with Mohammed Shami, whose searing pace and swing flummoxed the RR top-order batters.

Pandya induced Jaiswal to play an absurd short with the batter opening the face of the bat to a delivery outside the off stump to give Gill catching practice in slips.

With pressure mounting in powerplay -- and with the high standards the Royals have set in those