A target of 155 runs was unlikely to put Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) under any sort of pressure even if they lost two of their biggest match-winners (David Warner and Jonny Bairstow) in the first 16 balls for just 16 runs.
No prizes for guessing it right that only Jofra Archer could have caused such damage. In fact, Archer was menacing in his first two overs and maybe Steven Smith made a mistake by not giving him the 3rd over in the power play overs.
“I consulted a few other boys, it was talked about (giving Jofra another over up front) but opted against it and in hindsight, after what happened, probably would've given him one more over. It was on my mind,” rued Smith after the match got over. The eight wicket win made the contest almost one-sided in Dubai on October 22 night.
The Pandey-Shankar partnership
However, Manish Pandey and Vijay Shankar rose to the occasion by scoring half-centuries. The two added 140* runs for the third wicket which played a decisive role in now taking their team to the 5th position in the points table.
“The first ball I middled through covers and I tried to keep my shape. I was hitting it well and I tried to get my team over the line. Vijay was also long due and he stepped up batting at 4," said Pandey after getting the Man of the match award for a superlative 83 off just 47 balls which included 8 sixes and just 4 fours!
Royals managed just half the sixes of Pandey’s in their entire innings, which underlines the dominance of Pandey in the second innings. His partner Shankar may not have hit a single six but his solid unbeaten 52 off 51 balls(with 6 fours) ensured there was no tension in the middle overs as SRH fumbled earlier in the tournament.
“We knew Jofra would come hard at us. Personally this was a do-or-die game for me. I batted just 18 balls prior to this. It was a good challenge and I was looking forward to something like this because it will give me a lot of confidence if I do well in that situation,’’ said Vijay Shankar after the match in a chat with the host broadcaster.
SRH bowlers gave the platform
If Rashid Khan did what he often does (4 overs and just 20 runs and picked a big wicket like Ben Stokes), Vijay Shankar surprised with his back to back fine bowling display (3 overs and just 15 runs and a bigger wicket of Jos Buttler).
However, it was the West Indian Jason Holder playing his first match of the IPL 2020 (came as a late replacement for Mitchell Marsh but made it to the XI because Kane Williamson wasn’t fit) who impressed one and all for his 3 for 33 in four overs. In fact, it was Holder’s fielding which put the break on Rajasthan Royals’ brisk start when opener Robin Uthappa was just looking dangerous (19 runs off 13 balls with a six and two fours).
“Jason adds strength to our bowling, his experience, he's an all-round package. He's a great inclusion,” said SRH captain Warner after the match. Such was the combined effort of the spin-pace trio that David Warner used only one over of specialist spinner Shahbaz Nadeem.
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