INDIA PREMIER LEAGUE 2020
Shankar finished the innings with a limit, undefeated at 52 to 51 © BCCI / IPL
An on-air commentator wondered aloud if having a batter battling at the other end would add pressure to the set batter. Manish Pandey was undefeated at 50 of 28 balls and Vijay Shankar at the other end, made a rough start on his innings, undefeated at 9 of 15 balls.
Jofra Archer had given the Rajasthan Royals a shot in the arm very early in their defense of a sub-155 total after firing David Warner and Jonny Bairstow in three overs. Manish and Shankar, who had only faced 18 balls so far this season, had a great job to do given the infamous fragility of SRH’s middle order that has seen them squander games this season not to be on track for the season. victory.
With a fast and furious Archer, the plan for the pair was clear: they wanted to fire him and face the forks (on Shreyas Gopal and Rahul Tewatia), along with the Indian pacemakers (Ankit Rajpoot and Kartik Tyagi). The sixth ball Manish faced, he went through through additional coverage when Tyagi offered him width and there was no turning back for him, timing the ball beautifully.
“Manish was hitting the ball really well from the start. He had only hit 18 balls before this inning, so it was important to me to stay at the wicket and give him the confidence that we can take the game deeper,” he said. Shankar after the game. . “We talked in the middle about deepening the game and I opened up and got some limits and it made things easier for us. It was a good partnership and we had good communication and we also ran very well between the fields.
With Manish wielding all the swords in his arsenal, Shankar was happy to bide his time. In a half-century position on a stage, Shankar had only contributed 7 runs. One wondered if Archer should have persisted with another one up front after accounting for SRH’s starters for the shot at another wicket. When he returned for his second spell, SRH needed 61 of 54 deliveries. The pair were in a comfortable position to follow their plan and maintain the required pace at a visible distance.
“For me it was important to play a bowler like Jofra Archer in this situation because it gives me a lot of confidence. He was coming very hard towards us. If you see in the second and third, I played most of the balls that he was very important to me playing without going out and also scoring some runs, which was important to me.
“We knew we had to stay in the middle to deepen the game. If you ask me personally, it was a game of life and death for me. I haven’t had the best time with the bat. I had to act in this game. Fortunately or unfortunately we lost. early grounds that made the team decide to send me to order. Really happy to play such innings. ”
Shankar finished the innings with a limit, undefeated at 52 against 51, while Manish dominated in an 83 of 47 balls and the pair became the first Indian pair to add a century position for SRH. Their undefeated position of 140 helped them chase the total in 18.1 overs, giving SRH the two vital points they were looking for and a win after three losses in a row.
© Cricbuzz
