Rajasthan Royals broke free from the chains of a four-match losing streak to beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by five wickets in Sunday’s afternoon match at the Dubai International Stadium.
But the win came not because of the much-awaited inclusion of star all-rounder Ben Stokes in the team, but because of some fine batting under pressure from the unheralded duo of Rahul Tewatia (45 not out off 28 balls) and Riyan Parag (42 not out off 26 balls), who wrapped up the deal with a ball to spare, chasing a 159-run target.
In the process, they also stitched the highest sixth-wicket partnership — unbroken 85 off 7.5 overs — so far in this IPL. Thanks to this win, the Royals are now sixth in the standings with as many points.
As far as Stokes is concerned, he had a pretty forgettable outing, but then he was playing his first competitive match in a long time.
On a slow and tricky wicket, the Sunrisers were right in opting to bat first after winning the toss. Scoring was difficult, but Manish Pandey (54), captain David Warner (48) and Kane Williamson’s unbeaten 12-ball 22 not out at the death were enough for the Sunrisers to post 158/4 in 20 overs.
The chase was never easy for Royals and when they lost Stokes, Jos Buttler and captain Steve Smith within the first five overs, it became even more uphill.
Sunrisers’ left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed deserves credit for bowling with a wonderful line and length to account for Stokes and Buttler.
Sanju Samson and his senior partner Robin Uthappa tried to bring the Royals’ chase back on track. But Rashid Khan derailed them again, removing both the set batsmen quickly.
The Royals were 78/5 then after 12 overs, needing another 81 off the last eight overs. Tewatia again found himself in a position of having too much to do, but on this occasion, he found an able ally in Riyan.
The duo began the turnaround from over number 17 bowled by Sandeep Sharma, which yielded them 18.
There was a heated exchange between Tewatia and Khaleel in the final over, but Riyan closed the match with a six over cover off the penultimate ball.