IPL SRL | SRH vs RR Evaluation Chart - Pandey, Rashid knocks ensure one-sided win for SRH

ByAakash Sivasubramaniam, SportsCafe Editor

06/19/2020

Batting first, Sunrisers put on a show, scoring 172 runs on the back of Manish Pandey’s half-century and Rashid Khan’s 22 off 8, with Shreyas Gopal picking up two wickets. In the second innings, it was a rounded bowling display from Sanjay Yadav to ensure a 48-run victory for the hosts.

Match Review

After being put to bat first, Sunrisers got off to the best start possible, with David Warner and Jonny Bairstow putting on a 39-run partnership before losing their first wicket. Despite two quick wickets of David Warner and Kane Williamson just after the powerplay, the team, on the back of their Indian batting unit, Manish Pandey and Vijay Shankar, started building a comeback. While Shankar was the defensive one in the partnership, Pandey, at the other end, ensured that there were no hiccups with the run-rate. After Pandey’s dismissal, when he had scored 50 runs off 28 balls, youngster Virat Singh and Rashid Khan took the mantle. While Virat scored a 7-ball 15, the Afghan leggie’s 8-ball 22 ensured that Sunrisers got themselves to 172 for the loss of six wickets in their stipulated overs.

Chasing 173, the Royals put their foot wrong into the run-chase, losing opener Jos Buttler in the very first over of the innings, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar walking away with the wicket. In the next three overs' time, it was the time for another wicket, as Buttler's partner, Robin Uthappa, too walked back to the hut. Being reduced to 17/2, the pressure was on Sanju Samson and Steve Smith to rebuild their fortunes. While they were showing glimpses of improvement, it fell flat on their face, as the duo got dismissed in the span of three deliveries to leave RR reeling at 57/4. Once Sanjay Yadav walked into bowl, the encounter was completely wiped away from Rajasthan, with the left-armer striking a double blow. All of this resulted in the away side being reduced to 124, losing all their wickets, falling massively by 48 runs in the fixture.

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Turning Point

Rashid Khan’s 8-ball cameo certainly was the turning point of this cruciating fixture between Sunrisers and Rajasthan. While it was Rajasthan who were on the ascendancy before the Afghan leg-spinner walked into bat, his willow, with which he hit two sixes and a boundary, helped the team in Orange to a total of 170. It is imperative to remember that at one stage, they looked like they would only reach 150.

Highs and Lows

Sanjay Yadav’s bowling spell was truly a bowler’s dream-come-true moment, with the Tamil Nadu-born spinner putting on a show. First, he accounted for the wicket of the dangerous Sanju Samson just after the powerplay, after which his second wicket truly sealed the game for the Sunrisers. A frustrated Ben Stokes edged one to Jonny Bairstow and soon after, Riyan Parag, too, walked off without troubling the scorers.

Ben Stokes’ knock not only left the Royal fans unhappy but also the neutrals, who were expecting a good match-up between the two sides, disappointed. In a contest where a side is chasing beyond 170, it is natural for a batsman to take an over or two to get himself familiar with the conditions, but Stokes' four-ball six runs in this particular fixture was the ultimate low point of the encounter.

Rating Charts

Powerplay exploitation: SRH 6/10 and RR 3/10

The explosive duo of Jonny Bairstow and David Warner gave the crowd a familiar sight early on in the innings, with the ball flying across all parts of the ground. While Warner was a bit careful and held himself back early on in the innings, his partner at the other end, Bairstow, took the attack to the bowlers. Before his dismissal, the English opener had already scored 19 runs, at 100 strike rate, with the home team scoring at 7.83 runs an over. The Australian opener ensured that they did not lose more than one wicket during the deadly phase.

Rajasthan openers continued to disappoint at the start of the innings, with the English batsman Jos Buttler walking back in the first over of the innings. He was joined by his opening partner, Robin Uthappa, in the fourth over, as the run-rate was nowhere close to the required rate for the visitors. In the end, all the visiting side could manage in the power-packed phase of the innings was 31 runs, losing two wickets. Chasing 172, the start clearly put the rest of the batting order under pressure.

Middle-overs manoeuvring: SRH 7/10 and RR 3/10

After the steady start from the Orange Army, the onus was on the left-handed Australian to continue the momentum through to the middle phase of the innings. While he did not last too long, getting out to Tom Curran, for a well-made 24, his partner at the other end, Kane Willamson, was joined in the middle by Manish Pandey. The Indian middle-order batsman showcased a variety of shots, playing himself and the team out of trouble. After Williamson’s loss, Vijay Shankar and Pandey played the entirety of the middle-overs, taking the team to a score of 112/3 just ahead of the climax.

As soon as the powerplay curtain was drawn, there was only one way that the RR were going with the run-chase - full aggression. While they kept the run-rate going in the first two overs, taking on Rashid Khan, once Sanjay Yadav jumped into the attack, though, Sanju Samson tried to take him on before holing it out to the fielder after scoring a 32-ball 29. One led to another as Smith too struggled to take Rashid Khan on, getting himself out, leaving RR in a turmoil. Yadav, in his second over of the spell, struck twice, dismissing Ben Stokes and Riyan Parag in the span of three deliveries. Another double-wicket over from Khaleel Ahmed left the visitors in tatters.

Death bowling: SRH 7/10 and RR 2/10

Just when Sunrisers were about to explode towards the end of the innings, they lost the crucial wicket of Manish Pandey, which slowed the momentum of the men in Orange. After scoring a boundary and a six in the 16th over, Pandey walked back, giving the Sunrisers a jolt. However, youngster Virat Singh took the charge and scored two sixes to put the encounter back in their favour. And despite the loss of Virat and Vijay Shankar in successive overs, their Afghan all-rounder Rashid Khan ensured that Sunrisers piled 172 runs on board, with a fine 8-ball 22.

There were two segments to this particular innings from Rajasthan - one being their poor batting and the other from the home side’s bowling unit. Rashid Khan, Sanjay Yadav, Khaleel Ahmed and Bhuvneshwar Kumar ensured that the RR were reduced to a total of 124, falling 48 short of the required runs. For the visitors, only Rahul Tewatia scored something - a 27-ball 34 which included three sixes.

Match Frenzy O Meter - Poor

The match started on a good note, with the home batsmen putting on a show in familiar territory, but after that, it was a one-sided show. Thanks to the brilliance from Rashid Khan and Manish Pandey in the first innings and Sanjay Yadav in the second, we got to see a show. Otherwise, overall, the imbalance between the two sides was pretty evident and terrible.