Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad are locking horns in the 40th match of the Indian Premier League 2021 in Dubai. SRH are reeling at the bottom of the points table while Rajasthan Royals won two games in the second leg and jumped to the fourth spot.
Sanju Samson won the toss and opted to bat first. RR brought in Evin Lewis and Chris Morris in place of Tabraiz Shamsi and David Miller. SRH dropped David Warner, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav and Khaleel Ahmed while bringing Jason Roy, Abhishek Sharma, Priyam Garg and Siddarth Kaul.
Also Read: Jason Roy replaces Mitchell Marsh in the Sunrisers Hyderabad squad
Bhuvneshwar Kumar got rid of Lewis on his first ball for six. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sanju Samson, then, steadied the ship for RR with a 56-run stand for the second wicket. Jaiswal got out while trying to be over-aggressive. Sanju Samson, though, was batting in his shell and didn’t cut loose until his eyes were set.
Mahipal Lomror proved to be a good ally for Samson and kept one end tight. Samson started cutting losses and showcased some clean hitting against a quality bowling lineup of SRH. He scored 82 runs in 57 balls where he hit seven fours and three sixes. It was his innings that took RR’s total to 164/5 in 20 overs.
In response, Jason Roy and Wriddhiman Saha took SRH off to a blazing start. The duo added 57 runs for the opening wicket in the first five overs of their innings. Saha got stumped out off Lomror but Roy was determined to play a match-defining knock. Kane Williamson gave him good company and both added another 57 runs for the second wicket.
Roy got out after scoring 60 runs in 42 balls on his debut for SRH. He hit eight fours and one six before getting out to Chetan Sakariya. Priyam Garg’s innings lasted only one delivery as Mustafizur Rahman dismissed him for a golden duck.
Also Read: Sunrisers Hyderabad should drop some senior players, suggests Sanjay Manjrekar
Williamson, however, kept his cool and played a good anchor’s role. Abhishek Sharma (21) partnered with Williamson (51) and took SRH over the line with seven wickets remaining and nine balls in hand.
See how Twitter reacted to this game;
He has been dropped from this Hyderabad team but anyone writing @davidwarner31 off do so at their own peril. I won’t be surprised if he makes this #ICCWT20 his own. He is a proud athlete and this will hurt him.
— Boria Majumdar (@BoriaMajumdar) September 27, 2021
No, #SRH has not lent a wicketkeeper to #RR …
That’s just leading run getter Samson in the Orange Cap.
You’re welcome 😬🤪— Gaurav Kapur (@gauravkapur) September 27, 2021
There are some overseas player-franchise associations for the ages. Like Pollard and Malinga with #MI, AB with #RCB. Maybe Bravo with #CSK. Warner and #SRH will always be up there. Bit painful to see that unraveling.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) September 27, 2021
What an innings from @IamSanjuSamson. I'm always on the edge of my seat when he is batting.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) September 27, 2021
Smashing knock by Samson has led #RR to a competitive score. SRH were sloppy in the field but can make up with the bat. Pitch full of runs. Issue is whether #SRH have self belief
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) September 27, 2021
Mumbai Indians, KKR, Punjab Kings and Rajasthan Royals all have played 10 matches now with 8 points. The spot for the playoffs is getting harder for the 4th team.
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) September 27, 2021
L L L L L W – Roy and Williamson excel as SRH win only their second game this season
Rajasthan fail to take their chance to get into the top four #SRHvRR | #IPL2021
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) September 27, 2021
