Rajasthan Royals (RR) set a humongous target of 229 after they were asked to bat first against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). Vaibhav Sooryavanshi continued his purple patch as he struck a mind-boggling ton. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s onslaught shook SRH’s bowling unit who were quite speechless.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s blitz floors SRH in powerplay overs
RR were asked to bat first at Jaipur (*first match this edition). Vaibhav Sooryavanshi wasted no time as he unleashed an attack on Praful Hinge & whacked him for 4 back-to-back sixes in the very first over of the innings. The surface was a batting paradise as there was hardly any moisture in it for bowlers. Yashasvi Jaiswal (10 in 8) was undone by Eshan Malinga, whose ploy of hitting hard lenghth cramped him for room. RR’s score was 40-2 in 2.2 overs at that time.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s ultra-attacking mindset was jaw dropping. The bat swing of Vaibhav somewhat threatened SRH’s bowlers as he generated immense power via it. Vaibhav got to his half century in a mere 15 balls in 6th over as his intrepid attitude created a fear in bowlers’ mind. SRH’s skipper Pat Cummins’ various field placements weren’t proving to be effective. RR scored 76-1 in 6 overs
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s continues his onslaught in middle overs
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi & Dhruv Jurel rotated the strike on a regular basis. In 7th over, Shivang Kumar was taken to cleaners as his half length volley’s were dispatched to stands by Vaibhav. Pat Cummins came into bowl 8th over but Dhruv & Vaibhav played him out without going berserk as SRH’s skipper 3rd over didn’t yeild results for visitors.
Dhruv Jurel was quite happy to play the role of anchor. In the 11th over bowled by Eshan Malinga, Dhurv Jurel took him as he hit him for on six and one four as pace off variations also didn’t trouble him. At the end of 11 overs, RR’s score was 127-1. The introduction of Nitish Kumar Reddy in 13th over broke the partnership of 112 runs in 74 balls as Dhruv Jurel (51 in 35)’s decision to hit multiple boundaries cost him his wicket.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi got to his second IPL ton in just 36 balls. He clobbered Sakib Hussain in 14th over for 3 back to back boundaries as the entire crowd erupted in joy. It was though short lived as Sakib used off cutter and Vaibhav was adjudged LBW & RR’s score was 170-3 in 13.5 overs. Vaibhav single handedly decimated SRH’s bowlers with his jaw dropping knock of 103 in 37 balls as he hit 5 sixes and 12 sixes which was quite stunning. RR’s score at end of 15 overs was 184-3.
SRH pulls back game in death overs
Riyan Parag was dropped on 6 by Praful Hinge on his own bowling in 16th over. In the 17th over, Cummins inswinging wide off stump yorker bamboozled Parag (7 in 9) completely. The runs were getting to hard to come in death overs despite the surface being a belter.
In the 18th over Donovan Fererira took responsibility and smashed Sakib Hussain for 2 monstrous sixes and a four. RR’s score was 213-4 in 18 overs. Malinga provided the much needed break-through of Donovan (33 in 16) in 19th over as Malinga was bowling yorkers and then surprised Donovan with a juicy full toss. RR didn’ got the boost required at the death as they finished on 228-6 in 20 overs. Malinga was pick of bowlers who took 2 wickets for 38 runs in his 4 over spell.
Who’s winning RR or SRH
229 is still a mammoth target in T20 cricket, there are chances that there will be more dew in 2nd innings. Travis Head & Abhishek Sharma needs to give SRH a rollicking start and tackle Jofra Archer who has been consistently taking wickets in his first spell. If SRH score 80-100 runs in powerplay overs, they will fancy their chances to win match. SRH are favorites but RR’s inexperienced yet efficient bowling unit can turn the game in their favor.
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