Match Results: Rajasthan Royals 220 for 3 (Buttler 124, Samson 48) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad 165 for 8 (Pandey 31, Mustafizur 3-20, Morris 3-29) by 55 runs Sunrisers Hyderabad lost to Rajasthan Royals by 55 runs, staying at the bottom of the IPL 2021 points table. They faced their sixth loss in seven games! Sunrisers didn't stand a chance against Jos Buttler's T20 century, with 11 fours and eight sixes in his 64-ball 124. His contribution took Rajasthan Royals to 220 for 3, with Buttler hitting his last 74 runs in only 25 balls after making his half-century in 39 deliveries.
Warner was dropped by the Sunrisers in this game. Previously, he missed 20 games due to a ban (17 games for the Newlands ball-tampering scandal) or because of international commitments (3 games while representing Australia) as per ESPN reports.
Kane Williamson brought Abdul Samad, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Mohammad Nabi to strengthen the side's middle order. Though the collapse of top-order ruined a solid start and the Sunrisers could not recover. Royals' bowlers relied on their cutters and slower balls to keep the competition down to 165 for 8. Rashid Khan came in early to bowl in the third over of the match and Yashasvi Jaiswal hit him for three-fours. Sunrisers also regretted their poor use of technology as they couldn't ask for a replay confirming Buttler's dismissal.
Buttler sparked with bat and hit a lot of sixes! He made two fours off Kumar, depositing Sandeep Sharma for a six and four to reach his fifty in 39 balls. He hit three sixes and two fours in the space of 1.2 overs and got to 124 before dragging a shot onto his stumps.
Manish Pandey hit Kartik Tyagi and Chris Morris for two fours and two sixes after enduring a difficult opening few overs where he looked nervous against the short and moving deliveries.
Jonny Bairstow scored against Chetan Sakariya for six and two fours but could not profit as he was caught on Rahul Tewatia's ball for a 21-ball 30. From 57 for no loss after six overs, the Sunrisers quickly went to 70 for 2 after eight. Sakariya and Tewatia bowled two calm overs to Williamson and Shankar. With Nabi's wicket, the Sunrisers wanted another 94 off 34 balls with only two known batters remaining.
Kedar Jadhav had started his innings with a six off Tewatia but grappled with timing generally. Samad endured the same outcome as he kept finding fielders after hitting a six early on. Sakariya, Mustafizur, and Morris used their change of pace on a deteriorating surface.
Morris took out Samad after a thrilling running catch from IPL debutant Anuj Rawat. In the same over, Morris removed Jadhav's stumps with a straight ball. After 142 for 7 after 17 overs, the Sunrisers were left trying to protect the net run-rate. They ended on 165 for 8.