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Manish Pandey’s unbeaten 83 off just 47 balls and his mammoth 140-run partnership with Vijay Shankar (52 not out off 51) helped Sunrisers Hyderabad beat Rajasthan Royals by eight wickets in Dubai on Thursday.
The decision to bowl first after winning the toss went in the favour of SRH captain David Warner as his bowlers dominated the proceedings. RR opener Robin Uthappa looked in fine form as he raced up to 19 off 13 balls before getting run-out after a terrible mix-up with his partner Ben Stokes. SRH bowlers kept things tight to ensure Sanju Samson and Stokes could not go all out against them.
Samson scored 36 off 26 balls while Stokes scored 30 off 32 balls to add 56 runs for the second wicket. RR lost the plot in the middle overs after Samson and Stokes were dismissed in quick succession in the 12th and 13th over respectively. Riyan Parag’s late cameo of 12-ball 20 and Jofra Archer’s 7-ball 16 propelled them to 154 after the likes of Jos Buttler (9) and Steve Smith (19) failed to deliver.
‘It was a stunning performance’
After the match, Warner expressed immense happiness following the performances of Manish and Shankar. The Australian cricketer added that he was “chuffed” for the duo.
“For them to come out and play like this, I am so happy for them. They showed they can build a platform for us to get across the line. Or set a big total. I am chuffed for them,” said the SRH skipper during the post-match press conference.
Warner further described the team performance as “stunning”, hailing the triumph as the kind of game they were “asking for”.
“It was a stunning performance. Starts with the toss where you (broadcaster Mark Nicholas) questioned my decision to chase. We were able to bring them back after Powerplay. All in all, the kind of game we were asking for,” he added.
Brief scores: Rajasthan Royals 154/6 in 20 overs (Sanju Samson 36; Jason Holder 3-33) lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad 156/2 in 18.1 overs (Manish Pandey 83*, Vijay Shankar 52*) by 8 wickets.
