The Sunrisers Hyderabad are back in the race of the playoffs as they beat the Steve Smith-led Rajasthan Royals which was played at the Dubai International cricket stadium. Rajasthan Royals didn’t look like they were anywhere close to Manish Pandey and Vijay Shankar’s counter-attack in the chase as the middle order duo chased down the target of 155.

It all started at the toss as Sunrisers Hyderabad won the toss and elected to bowl first at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. The decision to bowl first was questioned by many as majority sides that have batted first have gone on to win the match but David Warner won the toss and elected to bowl first. In the decision did pay well as Vijay Shankar and Manish Pandey’s 130 run partnership ensured that Rajasthan Royals stand no chance today.

Hyderabad secure two crucial points

Batting first Rajasthan Royals posted a total of 155 runs with the help of valuable contributions coming in from Ben Stokes, Sanju Samson and Riyan Parag down the order. West Indies skipper Jason Holder who played his first match of the season for the Sunrisers Hyderabad was the pick of the wickets as he picked three wickets in his spell of four overs.

On the other hand, Sunrisers Hyderabad in the chase lost both their openers very early as Jofra Archer looked as good as never yet again. But it was all about Manish Pandey and Vijay Shankar who stitched a 130 run partnership to sail Sunrisers Hyderabad through to the finishing line. With this win, Sunrisers Hyderabad keeps their playoff hopes alive as we inch closer towards the business end of the tournament.

High time for us to perform – Manish Pandey

The man of the match for today’s match between Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad was Manish Pandey for his unbeaten knock of 83 runs off 47 deliveries. At post-match presentation, Manish Pandey said that this performance from him was a long time overdue as he wasn’t in the right state of mind in the previous few matches as he was having a lot of thoughts in his mind before batting.

“There were enough talks around our middle order. High time for us to perform. I just wanted to stay on the wicket and play my shots. Really happy that it came off today. We had the opportunity to win the game for SRH, really happy I’m standing here. We had plans to see Jofra off. We had a plan to take on the leggies and Indian bowlers, and it paid off,” Manish Pandey said. 

Also Read: Steve Smith Rues Not Bowling Jofra Archer For Third Over After Loss Against RR

Manish Pandey further went on to praise Vijay Shankar whose performance with the bat was also long time overdue as he was contributing consistently with the ball but wasn’t able to do so with the bat. Today he got the opportunity and Vijay Shankar sealed it with both hands.

“The first ball I middled through covers and I tried to keep my shape. I was hitting it well and I tried to get my team over the line. Vijay was also long due and he stepped up batting at 4. We are trying to take positives from this match and we’ll try to keep it up for the rest of the tournament,” Manish Pandey added.