IPL 2021, SRH vs RR: Who won yesterday's match?

Jason Roy (60 off 42) made a memorable debut for the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) as the franchise defeated the Rajasthan Royals (RR) by seven wickets in Match 40 of the 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL) in Dubai on Monday. The win ended SRH's five-match losing streak in the league this season.

Roy’s blistering fifty was complemented by a fluent half-century from skipper Kane Williamson (51 not out off 41 balls) as SRH eased home with nine balls to spare in a chase of 165. SRH’s win meant another brilliant innings by RR skipper Sanju Samson (82 off 57) went in vain.

SRH’s belated move to open with Roy instead of David Warner paid off as the England batter dominated a first-wicket stand of 57 with Wriddhiman Saha (18). Roy took two fours off Mustafizur Rahman in the fourth over. After scooping a back of a length delivery over short fine leg, he sliced one to deep extra cover. In between, there were four byes as a cutter foxed Samson behind the stumps.

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The fifth over bowled by Chris Morris saw Roy helping himself to three fours. A good length ball was cut between point and short third man, while a friendly full toss was placed to fine leg. The over ended with a flick over midwicket, which also went for a four. 18 came off the over, including four leg byes.

At the other end, Saha pulled Jaydev Unadkat for six to start the third over and then cut a length ball to extra cover for four. He looked set for a lot more when he danced down the track to left-arm spinner Mahipal Lomror and was left stranded after completely missing his slog. SRH skipper Williamson came in and drove one through the off-side for four as the chasing side were comfortably placed at 63 for 1 after the powerplay.

After a couple of quiet overs, Williamson broke the shackles, chipping Lomror over extra cover for a maximum with ease. Roy then slog-swept Rahul Tewatia for a six over deep square leg and swung the next one to fine leg for four to bring up a fifty on debut for SRH.

Another four came via a sweep but RR had a chance to send Roy back. The SRH opener slicked the fifth ball of the over straight to extra cover, but Yashasvi Jaiswal dropped a sitter. Roy celebrated his life by reverse-sweeping the last ball for a boundary as 21 came off the over.

Roy’s knock ended in tame fashion as his attempted scoop off Chetan Sakariya ended as a simple catch to Samson. There were some flutters in the SRH camp as Priyam Garg fell first-ball, lobbing a simple caught and bowled off a Mustafizur slower ball.

With 22 needed off the last three, Abhishek Sharma (21 not out) thumped a back of a length delivery from Sakariya over wide long-on for a maximum to ease the pressure. Williamson then whipped the penultimate ball of the over past deep square leg for four.

The SRH skipper took his team over the line by easing two fours of Mustafizur on the on-side, with the winning runs also bringing up Williamson’s half-century.

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Sanju Samson special lifts RR to 164 for 5

RR skipper Sanju Samson. Pic: IPLT20.COM

RR skipper Sanju Samson, yet again, played a lone hand with the bat to guide his team to 164 for 5, batting first against SRH. Coming into bat in the second over, Samson held the innings together with a superlative 57-ball 82 even as wickets kept falling around him. With his splendid knock, he also took the Orange Cap from Shikhar Dhawan.

The RR captain found some support from Mahipal Lomror (29 not out off 28) as the two featured in an 84-run stand for the fourth wicket, with Samson being the dominant partner. Earlier, opener Yashasvi Jaiswal (36 of 23) again made an impressive start but could not convert his innings into a big one.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar got Evin Lewis (6) with his first ball, in the second over of RR’s innings. The opener tried to whip a length ball but ended up finding deep backward square. Bhuvneshwar began with a wicket maiden. Jaiswal, however, sent two length balls from Sandeep Sharma to the boundary to get someone momentum into the innings.

In Bhuvneshwar’s next over, Samson joined the act, cutting the bowler between point and cover. Jaiswal too found a streaky boundary as 11 came from the fourth over. Despite losing Lewis, RR did not do badly and reached 49 at the end of the powerplay.

When Sandeep was brought back in the 9th over, Jaiswal swatted him for a maximum over long-off. However, he was back in the dugout next ball, dragging the delivery onto his stumps. Liam Livingstone (4) registered another failure as he pulled Rashid Khan to fine leg.

After that the RR captain decided to take matters into his own hands. He reached his fifty at the start of the 16th over, bowled by Siddharth Kaul, lofting him over mid-off for four. Samson then managed a six off a leading edge. A second maximum came in the over, which went for 20, as Samson slammed Kaul over deep midwicket and reached 3000 IPL runs.

Kaul redeemed himself in the last over by having the RR skipper caught at long-on. He also dismissed Riyan Parag (0) as his lofted drive found long-off. The twin dismissals ensured SRH restricted RR to under 170.

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IPL 2021, SRH vs RR: Who won the Man of the Match?

Roy was fantastic in his debut game for SRH. His innings, which included eight fours and a six, provided the side with the impetus they were missing. Williamson also hit a fine half-century, striking five fours and a six.

When SRH bowled, Bhuvneshwar (1/28) and Rashid (1/31) kept things tight. Siddharth Kaul went for a few early but came well to finish with 2 for 36. For RR, it was the same old story as captain Samson played a lone hand of 82.

Roy was named the Man of the Match for his blazing knock at the top of the order.