IPL 2020, Match 40: Rajasthan Royals v Sunrisers Hyderabad – Pandey, Shankar half-centuries help SRH coast to 8-wicket win

A counter-attacking half-century from Manish Pandey, ably supported by Vijay Shankar helped the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) draw level with Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) and their opponents for tonight, Rajasthan Royals (RR) on points in this year’s IPL with the help of an 8-wicket win after their bowlers restricted RR to 154.

Put in to bat, the Rajasthan Royals (RR) opening pair of Robin Uthappa and Ben Stokes picked up some pace from the 2^nd over, with Uthappa clearing the fence in the third over. Unfortunately for them, the opening partnership was broken an over after that, as Uthappa ran himself out after taking far too long to turn back. Sanju Samson walked in and hit a couple of classy boundaries, but from thereon the scoring was being done only in runs between the wickets for about three overs. Stokes offered a catching opportunity off Rashid Khan at deep-midwicket, but Vijay Shankar ended up making a mess of it.

Samson, having smashed Jason Holder into the mid-wicket stands in the 12^th over, fell in the next ball itself to a slower length delivery that just clipped the stumps. Stokes followed three balls later, playing all around a leg-break from Rashid Khan which hit his pad and deflected onto the stumps. It was once again up to Steven Smith and Jos Buttler to come to RR’s rescue, much like in the game against RCB.

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Buttler, who could not express himself to the fullest in that game, was unable to get going at all tonight, falling to a great catch from Shahbaz Nadeem at backward point off Shankar. Riyan Parag walked in and hit 15 out of 16 off the 18^th over from Natarajan, but the wickets of Smith and Parag himself next over further pegged RR back. Archer then smashed a four and a six off the first and last ball of the last over to take RR to 154.

Archer then provided much more impact with the ball at the start of the second innings, removing both SRH openers with sheer pace and good seam movement. While Warner played at one that just seemed to seam away from the stumps, thereby falling to Archer yet again as Ben Stokes at second slip took a marvelous catch, Bairstow was done in by a 149 km/ph in-dipper that crashed into the top of middle.

Jofra Archer provided two crucial breakthroughs for RR early on

Although the two wickets were taken at a very early stage of the innings and opened up a window for RR to break into this game, those ended up being the only wickets to fall in the innings. Manish Pandey, unfazed by what had happened in the first three overs, received a few looseners from the pacers at the other end and counter attacked viciously. A couple of fours off Tyagi in the 4^th over was followed up by a couple of massive sixes off Stokes in the following over. Tyagi went for a further 18 runs in his second over, as Pandey completely nullified the early threat from the Royals bowlers and looked to finish things off in a hurry.

The onslaught off the pacers meant that Pandey could knock it around against the miserly leg-spin duo of Shreyas Gopal and Rahul Tewatia. Pandey reached his fifty in the ninth over with a simple single down to long-off, having deposited the previous delivery, a long-hop, into the stands at deep mid-wicket.

Vijay Shankar, who had been shying away from the strike all this while, slowly began to cut loose by dispatching Gopal to the fence off consecutive deliveries in the 11^th over. After a few more quiet overs later, he smashed Archer, RR’s best bowler of the night, for three stunning boundaries, lofted off a back off a length straight back. Pandey hit two more sixes after that, and Shankar then brought up his half-century and two much-needed points for SRH with an emphatic pull shot off Tyagi for a boundary.

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RR v SRH: 3 reasons why RR lost

None of the batsmen played a big knock

The classic case of getting off to a good start, getting accustomed to the wicket and falling at the worst possible time. The manner in which all three top order wickets fell made it look even worse. Uthappa, having got off to yet another flier, ran himself out in a hair-tearing atrocious manner, taking an age to turn back after Stokes had declined a run to short cover straightaway. As a result, Holder’s direct hit ended up finding him miles short of the bowling crease.

The fact that Sanju Samson was over-hyped after the two great knocks that he played in Sharjah in RR’S first two matches has been evident from his string of scores in the following few matches. He had paced his innings quite well today and was looking good enough to guide RR to a competitive total tonight, only to get out playing a cheeky dink to a slower delivery from Jason Holder. The same cannot be said for Ben Stokes, though, who has certainly not been enjoying his role at the top-order for RR. He never looked comfortable during the span his 32-ball 30 tonight either, eventually being dismissed by Rashid Khan.

Not bowling Archer a third over on the trot

RR skipper Steven Smith himself admitted in the post-match presentation that in hindsight, after what took place, he should have given Jofra Archer one more over, something that was in his mind. The fact that Archer, who has been RR’s strike bowler throughout the tournament, took out the SRH opening pair, the backbone of their batting line-up was a good enough reason for him to get a third.

Archer, who has been accused of much bowling with too much intent in the past, bowled his heart out in the first 3 overs trying to defend the 154 runs that his side made. Archer had every component to his bowling tonight – sheer pace, movement off the air and off the wicket, with the help of which. The fact that Manish Pandey, the man who eventually ran away with the game, struggles against in-seaming deliveries would have worked to RR’s advantage had Archer been given the third over, but instead, it was his countryman, Ben Stokes, who was introduced to the attack.

Lack of support from other seamers

While Archer set the game up for the Royals from one end with the two prized scalps of Warner and Bairstow, he was certainly not helped by the effort from his fellow seamers. Both Ankit Rajpoot and Kartik Tyagi were guilty of offering too much width and bowling too short, which helped Pandey ease in and take the game away.

What looked more baffling was the introduction of Ben Stokes into the attack in the powerplay itself despite the availability of Archer and Rajpoot. Pandey smashed a couple of sixes out of his eventual eight of the night off the England all-rounder, and then Kartik Tyagi, who will be taking valuable lessons away from tonight, went for a further 18 runs in the final over of the powerplay.