Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) cruised to an eight-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Thursday, 22 October, and climbed two spots to fifth in the Indian Premier League standings.
This is the David Warner-led team’s first victory this season while chasing.
After SRH won the toss and opted to bowl, Jason Holder took three wickets in his season debut as Rajasthan Royals (RR) posted 154/6 wickets – the lowest first-innings total at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in this IPL.
In response, Manish Pandey (83*) and Vijay Shankar (52*) stitched an unbeaten 140-run partnership to take their team home with 11 balls remaining.
With this loss, RR have slipped from the sixth to the seventh spot in the points table, further reducing their chances of finishing in the top four and making the cut for a Playoffs berth.
Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Innings
Archer struck early, removed both the openers and reduced Rajasthan Royals to 16/2 in the first 16 balls of their innings.
The pacer once again got the wicket of captain David Warner, with Ben Stokes taking a stunning catch at slip, and then castled Jonny Bairstow for 10 (off 7 balls).
From there, Pandey and Shankar stitched an unbeaten 140-run partnership – Sunrisers’ 24th 100-plus stand and first between two Indian players.
Archer returned to bowl in the 12th and 16th over, failed to get another scalp, and gave away 3 and 13 runs respectively. He was hit by Shankar for three-straight boundaries and finished with figures of 2 for 21.
Pandey smashed a 47-ball 83* which featured four boundaries and 8 sixes while Shankar notched a 51-ball 52* comprising of six boundaries.
Pandey reached the 50-run mark off 28 deliveries – his third half-century this season. All-rounder Shankar on the other hand, reached his half-century with a boundary that also helped their team cross the line.
Rajasthan Royals’ Innings
Coming in place of an injured Kane Williamson, West Indies all-rounder Holder returned with 3 for 33. He also effected the run out of Robin Uthappa (13-ball 19) with a direct hit that ended his 30-run opening partnership with Ben Stokes.
From there, all-rounder Stokes took the innings forward with Sanju Samson, who finally managed to make an adequate contribution to the total after facing a slump.
After scoring a total of 77 runs in his last eight innings, which included six single digit scores, the 25-year-old Samson scored a 26-ball 36 which included three boundaries and a six.
He was eventually cleaned up by Holder, ending his 56-run stand with Stokes (32-ball 30) who fell to Rashid Khan in the next over. RR were 86/3 in 12.1 overs.
Stokes has now played 103 deliveries over five matches, scoring 110 runs at an average of 22 runs. Although he has hit 14 fours, he is yet to hit a six.
Jos Buttler, who smashed a match-winning 70* in their last game, was caught out for 9 (off 12 balls) after adding 24 run with the skipper. Steve Smith then stitched a 24-run stand with Riyan Parag before Holder removed both the batsmen on the first three deliveries of the 19th over.
Smith scored a 19 (off 15 balls), hitting two boundaries, while Parag’s 12-ball 20 featured two fours and a six.
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