Rajasthan Royals v Sunrisers Hyderabad: Talking Points

Oct 23, 2020

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Rajasthan Royals v Sunrisers Hyderabad: Talking Points Image

Sunrisers Hyderabad got a crucial 2 points on the board as they moved to 8 points on the IPL 2020 points table after a convincing win against Rajasthan Royals, who too have 8 points. SRH and RR are tied with four wins along with Kings XI Punjab, as the race for a playoffs berth gains momentum.

Here are the talking points from the game.

 

Is David Warner Archer’s bunny?

This is the 6th time in 7 innings that SRH skipper Warner was dismissed to Jofra Archer in all games in 2020. Overall, the Aussie has scored just 32 runs off the 45 Archer deliveries that he faced this year, and managed to lose his wicket to the Englishman for the second time this season. Archer was bowling a scary pace and the perfect line, which squared up Warner.

The ball moved away from him as he poked at the ball that he should have ideally left. However, Archer’s line made it impossible to leave the ball – the seam was upright, there was just a slight movement and the pace ensured that Warner just had a fraction of a moment to react.

 

The curios case of Mohammad Nabi

Afghan spinner Mohammad Nabi is one of the best T20 all-rounders in the world, having spun his magic in leagues like the CPL and the Big Bash League. He has impressed in his limited chances in IPL 2020 as well in the limited chances that he has received. Nabi was bought by the Orange Army in 2017 – a year after they won thee title – and has played just 14 games for the franchise thus far, out of the 57 games that he has been with the team. Nabi has phenomenal T20 numbers – he strikes the ball at a rate of 141.31 in the format (after 271 T20 games) and has picked up 267 wickets with 7 four-wicket hauls at an economy rate of just 6.89.

However, it is hard to accommodate Nabi in the XI, with Jonny Bairstow, Warner and Rashid Khan the three go-to overseas players. The fourth spot has usually been reserved for batter Kane Williamson, but it was hoped that in the Kiwi’s absence (due to injury), Nabi would have been given a look-in against RR. Jason Holder was preferred instead.

 

Archer is literally the lone warrior

Archer was threatening and menacing with the new ball against SRH, picking up two wickets in the two overs that he bowled, conceding just 5 runs in the first 2 overs that he bowled. However, the pressure that he built was negated by the other pacers Ankit Rajpoot and Kartik Tyagi.

While Rajpoot, bowling the second over of the game, gave 11 runs, Tyagi too leaked 11 runs in the 4th over of the innings. To make matters worse, Ben Stokes went for 13 in the fifth over. SRH ended the powerplay overs at 58 for 2, with all the hardwork that Archer had put in getting undone by the stray RR pacers.