IPL 2019, SRH v RR: 3 masterstrokes that helped SRH win against RR
In the eighth match of the tournament, Sunrisers Hyderabad hosted Rajasthan Royals at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad. Rajasthan Skipper Ajinkya Rahane won the toss and decided to bat first.
Royals went with the same team while SRH made a couple of changes to their playing XI.
Rajasthan had a cautious start. They couldn't score much in the first three overs but Jos Buttler got out in the fourth over. After that, Rahane & Sanju Samson started cautiously. They didn't score many runs in first few overs but once they settled in, they started scoring freely. Rahane got out after a brilliant 70 but Samson carried on with his carnage.
He tore apart the SRH bowling line-up in death overs. Ben Stokes scored some handy runs. Samson slammed his second IPL century and Royals finished with 198/2.
In reply, Sunrisers got off to a flyer. David Warner was absolutely smashing the ball to every corner of the ground. He was complimented very well by Jonny Bairstow. Warner got out after scoring a magnificent 69 & Bairstow fell soon after that. Vijay Shankar played a brilliant cameo and made sure SRH stayed ahead in the game. Despite losing a few wickets in next few overs, SRH managed to win due to handy runs by Yusuf Pathan & Rashid Khan.
Here are the three masterstrokes by SRH to win this game.
#1 Introducing Rashid Khan in the 4th Over
Rashid is undoubtedly the biggest match winner Sunrisers Hyderabad have with the ball. He has been stalwart of their bowling attack because of his wicket-taking abilities. After 3 overs, Royals were 15/0. They got a slow start but were very cautious.
Feeling the urgency in Buttler's batting, Kane Williamson brought Rashid back in the attack in only the fourth over. Like he always does, Rashid picked up a wicket in his first over itself by scalping Buttler.
Buttler has been in terrific form and his wicket up front is always an important one for the opposition. If he stays in, he makes life hard for the opposition bowlers.
Despite Samson and Rahane being set, Rashid managed to bowl his overs without going for runs. He went for only 24 runs in his 4 overs when almost every other bowler was taken to cleaners in the middle overs.
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