SRH vs RR Story: Kane Williamson and his Orange Army get ready to face Sanju Samson and his men in pink-and-blue. We look at one of the most memorable matches between the two sides!
SRH face RR in Match No. 40 of IPL 2021 tonight. Here is a lookback at one of the most memorable matches ever played between the two teams.
The Prelude
It was the year 2020, and it was Match No. 26 of that season. The two teams faced at the exact venue where they will be facing tonight – Dubai.
Sunrisers captain David Warner won the toss and opted to bat first. Both the teams needed to secure 2 points to stay alive in the playoffs race.
SRH lose Bairstow, then recover
Hyderabad openers Warner and Jonny Bairstow got off to a good start, but it was cut short as Kartik Tyagi got rid of Bairstow in the 5th over.
Manish Pandey then joined Warner. The two got into a very good partnership, albeit a slow-paced one. They added 73 runs in 10 overs, before the skipper was castled by Jofra Archer.
Also Read:Â SRH vs RR in IPL 2021: 5 Stats & Records that can be broken in Tonight;s Game
3 overs later, his partner Pandey followed him as Unadkat removed the right-hander. The score read 122-3, with only 14 balls left.
Williamson, Garg late flourish
Kane Williamson did what Kane Williamson does best – providing a great finish to his team’s innings. He hit unbeaten 22 off just 12 balls, and was partnered well by young Priyam Garg, who scored a quick 15 off just 8 balls.
This late flourish ensured SRH hovered around the 160-mark as they finished on 158-4 in their 20 overs.
RR off to a poor start
Rajasthan got off to a very poor start as they lost all their senior pros first up – Ben Stokes, Steve Smith and Jos Buttler. They were reduced to 26-3 in the 5th over.
Sanju Samson and Robin Uthappa then joined hands to ensure a bit of a recovery for the Royals. However, Rashid Khan first dismissed Uthappa and then Samson to further dent their hopes.
RR were now reeling at 78-5 at the end of 12 overs, still needing 81 runs in the last 8 overs.
Tewatia, Parag do the unthinkable
Rahul Tewatia and Riyan Parag were now at the crease. It looked an uphill task for both of them, but Tewatia had already pulled Rajasthan out of jail before in that season. So the unthinkable could be thought of!
With Parag and Tewatia taking time to settle in, the run rate climbed up. At the end of 15 overs, the Royals still needed 65 off the last 30 balls. SRH looked in the driver’s seat.
However, the young duo changed the complexion of the match completely in the next 4 overs! They targeted bad balls, and Tewatia even hit Rashid Khan for three consecutive fours!
The equation was finally down to 8 runs off the final over. Parag hit a six off the second-last ball of the match to seal it for the Royals!
Conclusion
This match made two things very clear – one, Tewatia’s Sharjah miracle was not a fluke and two, Riyan Parag was here to stay!
From down in the dumps at 78-5, Tewatia (45* off 28) and Parag (42* off 26) pulled off an absolute blinder for their team, when no one expected it!
Let’s see if we can get a similar kind of partnership between these two youngsters tonight!
