Jason Roy, playing his first IPL game in three years, showed on Monday night what the world's most glamorous cricket league had been missing.
Roy's 60 off 42 balls (8x4, 1x6) starred in Sunrisers Hyderabad’s seven-wicket win against Rajasthan Royals, with nine balls to spare, at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. The England opener could not have hoped for a better start to his innings with SRH; he was given the cap at the expense of the out-of-form David Warner.
Skipper Kane Williamson (51 not out, 41b, 5x4, 1x6) was content to play the second fiddle during his second-wicket partnership of 57 with Roy, but after the latter gifted his wicket, he took over and guided his side to what was only its second win.
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Chasing 165, SRH was given a brisk start by Roy and Wriddhiman Saha, who added 57 in just five overs. But the Royals captain Sanju Samson's decision to introduce the left-arm spin of Mahipal Lomror in the last over of the PowerPlay paid off.
Lomror's first ball sneaked under the bat of Saha, who had stepped out, only to find that fellow wicket-keeper Samson had dislodged the stumps. But Williamson's calm nerves and sweet timing ensured that the Royals needed to wait for a while before they got another wicket, in the shape of Roy.
The opener, not long after hitting Rahul Tewatia for 21 runs and getting dropped in the same over, perished, giving catching practice to Samson behind the stumps off Chetan Sakariya.
Though Priyam Garg too followed him to the hut for a duck, Abhishek Sharma (21 not out) played the perfect supporting role.
Earlier, Samson led from the front. Sadly for him, it didn’t prove enough, just as his unbeaten 70 wasn’t against Delhi Capitals on Saturday. He made a fine 82 (57 balls, 7x4, 3x6) and added 56 for the second wicket with Yashasvi Jaiswal (36, 23b, 5x4, 1x6). The Royals could only manage 21 off the last three overs, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Siddarth Kaul doing a good job at the death. That would prove crucial.
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