Xtra Time Web Desk: An unbeaten 140 runs partnership between Manish Pandey (83 off 47) and Vijay Shankar (52 off 51) saw Sunrisers Hyderabad comprehensively beat Rajasthan Royals in Match 40 of IPL 2020 at Dubai International Stadium on Thursday. The win keeps David Warner’s team stay afloat in the competition as they climbed to the fifth spot on points table (8 points from 11 matches) behind Kolkata Knight Riders. The loss meant Steve Smith’s side chances of qualifying are as much as over.
Rajasthan Royals posted 154/6 batting first with none of the batsmen converting the starts they got. Sanju Samson was the most aggressive batsman for the Royals with 26 balls 36. For Sunrisers Jason Holder, playing in his first match was the most successful bowler with 3/33 from his 4 overs.
Chasing a target of 155 runs to win, SRH were in deep trouble as they lost both openers David Warner and Johny Bairstow to Jofra Archer. The England fast bowler was on fire as he looked threatening but surprisingly Steve Smith did not give him the third over.
Later after the match Steve did admit that perhaps it was worth giving that extra over to Archer. “I thought we started really well. Jofra obviously taking the two big wickets early. But we couldn’t keep the foot on the pedal. The wicket got better. There was a fair bit of dew on for some reason. The third over for Jofra was on my mind, discussed it with a couple of guys. In hindsight, yeah, should have bowled a third straight over.”
Capitalising on the decision, both Pandey (Manish) and Shankar (Vijay) played themselves in, as they looked at building a partnership. Manish was the aggressive of the two as he hit four 4 s and 8 sixes in his 47 ball knock. He was the most severe against young Karthik Tyagi.
Talking about the win after the match, SRH Captain David Warner said, “I think the way we started was fantastic. We were able to bring it back after the powerplay. It’s been a complete game, we have been asking for. Good to see two guys getting the reward.”
Warner heaped a lot of praise on Holder, who had a decent outing playing his first match.
“Jason adds strength to our bowling, his experience, he’s an all-round package. He’s a great inclusion,” said Warner