A stellar effort with the ball, followed a good recovery with the bat saw Hyderabad beat Rajasthan and move up two places in the standings to fifth.
Here are the key talking points from the contest.
Pandey's power-packed performance
After a rare failure from Hyderabad’s outstanding opening pair, Rajasthan would have backed themselves to win this contest. However, those hopes were quickly dashed owing to a stellar display with the bat from Manish Pandey, who smashed 83 runs off 47 balls to set up an easy and much-needed victory for Hyderabad. Pandey smashed eight sixes in his innings that saw him notch his third half-century of this campaign.
Archer on target with bat and ball
On a day where Rajasthan failed to impress with both bat and ball, Jofra Archer was a star for the side, scoring 16 off just seven deliveries with the bat before rocking Hyderabad with two wickets in his first two overs with the ball. Archer's sensational performance went in vain, as Hyderabad easily chased down the total thanks to Pandey's heroics.
Not just a place holder
Injury to Mitchell Marsh forced Hyderabad to draft in a replacement and they chose West Indies' Jason Holder to take the Australian's place in the team. The experienced all-rounder was on the bench since his signing but was finally included in the playing XI, and he proved his worth with the ball, finishing with figures of 3-33 in his quota of four. Holder dismissed Sanju Samson, who was looking in great touch and then picked up the prized wicket of skipper Steve Smith. He picked up the wicket of Riyan Parag in the penultimate over, completing his three-wicket haul and showcasing his immense ability with the ball.
What does this result mean for Hyderabad?
Victory for Hyderabad leaves them in fifth, heading three teams tied at eight points on the table, and points two behind Kolkata, who are in the fourth spot with 10. Hyderabad needed this win to keep their playoff hopes alive but a tough run that sees them take on the league’s top three teams - Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore – plus the in-form Punjab, means that the two-time champions have their work cut out if they are to qualify for the playoffs.
Feature image courtesy: Twitter.com / Indian T20 League
