On Thursday, Sunrisers Hyderabad scripted an easy 8-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals in the 40th fixture of the Indian Premier League at Dubai International Stadium.
SRH chased down a target of 155 with 11 balls to spare after surviving the early headway made by a fiery early spell from Jofra Archer (2/21).
Shankar hit a four to take SRH over the line and bring up his half century off the first ball of the 19th and penultimate over of the innings. While Pandey hit eight sixes and four fours while Shankar hit four fours.
Archer gave RR a strong start to their defence, dismissing SRH openers David Warner and Jonny Bairstow in his first two overs. SRH were on 16/2 wickets when Shankar joined Pandey in the middle. Smith took Archer off the attack after which Pandey went on the counter and shifted momentum back his team’s way.
While Shankar took the role of holding up the other end, he shifted gears after the 12th over and eventually took on Archer himself. Smith decided to let Archer bowl his last over in the 16th and while the England fast bowler had figures of 2/8 wickets at the start of the over, Shankar hit three consecutive fours off him to all but end RR’s chances of making a comeback.
With this win, SunRisers Hyderabad has moved to fifth place in the points table with eight points while Rajasthan Royals has gone down to seventh place with eight points.
In the lists of leading wicket-takers and run-scorers, Kagiso Rabada of Delhi Capitals and Kings XI Punjab skipper KL Rahul continue to lead, respectively.
Rabada, who has so far picked 21 wickets in 10 matches, holds the Purple Cap, followed by Punjab pacer Mohammed Shami, who has 16 wickets in 10 games.
With 525 runs in 10 games, Rahul continues to hold onto the Orange Cap. Delhi Capitals opener Shikhar Dhawan holds the second spot with 465 runs to his name.
Here are the top 5 players with most runs (Orange Cap):
1. KL Rahul – 540
2. Shikhar Dhawan – 465
3. Mayank Agarwal – 398
4. Faf du Plessis – 375
5. Virat Kohli – 365
Here are the top 5 players with most wickets (Purple Cap):
1. Kagiso Rabada – 21
2. Mohammed Shami – 16
3. Jofra Archer – 15
4. Yuzvendra Chahal – 15
5. Jasprit Bumrah – 15
