Quick-gun Eoin Morgan fires, SRH stay alive

When you think of Eoin Morgan the batsman, it’s likely that the first image that come to mind is of a manipulative left-hander with a streak for playing adventurous shots around the dial. Most of them behind the wicket — reverse-sweeps, ramp shots, paddle-sweeps, you name them. But then there’s another shade to the Irish-turned-Englishman’s batting repertoire.

For, Morgan can be a punchy stroke-player in front of the wicket, with the ability to generate oodles of power with his strong bottom-hand grip. He can also clear the ropes, regardless of how long the boundaries are. That’s the bully version of him, the version that turned up at the Brabourne Stadium on Thursday.

Unfortunately for him — and the Sunrisers — neither alter ego of Morgan had really come to the party in IPL 8 till now. And he’d looked like a pale shadow of the player who was once counted among the most-feared in the T20 form. Time was running out for Morgan and his team. Having sunk to second from bottom, Hyderabad had taken a massive gamble by benching their headline new-ball attack — Dale Steyn and Trent Boult — and instead going in with four batsman of foreign origin, just to shore up their middle-order. To boot, David Warner had perished after having provided a vintage start alongside Shikhar Dhawan (who eventually got 54). Morgan had to step up.

There weren’t too many positive signs with the way he started, making a patchy 18 off 15 balls. Off the next 12, he smashed 45 before falling to the 13th.

It started with him bending down on one knee, slog-sweeping Pravin Tambe over the deep mid-wicket fence. It probably didn’t matter where the ball pitched, for Morgan had decided to go for the jugular. He hit the last two balls of the Tambe over for a four and a six before taking apart Chris Morris in the next. He began with a rasping cover-drive with the bat-face coming down in textbook fashion before charging down to the seamer and depositing him over the sight-screen. Then a four to bring up his fifty. He added a fourth six by clearing his foot and walloping Shane Watson over the long-on fence. Then he was out, but having given Sunrisers a total of over 200, and the Royals a massive run-chase.

Bhuvi bookends

Like Morgan the batsman, Bhuvneshwar Kumar the bowler can often be mistaken for a one-dimensional operator capable of swinging the new-ball to disastrous effect but without the incisiveness to deliver in the death. That was probably also a true perception of him till recently — probably the reason why MS Dhoni would prefer bowling his full quota in ODIs.

For Hyderabad, Bhuvi has been the go-to man in the death, and there are few bowlers — Indian or international — this season who have delivered the yorker with more consistency or potency. With the SRH think-tank playing an all-Indian bowling attack, the onus was on Kumar to lead the troops. He had done just that by getting rid of the dangerous Ajinkya Rahane in the first over. By the time Kumar returned for his second spell, James Faulkner had got his eye in — especially so after having hit Ishant Sharma for two sixes. Kumar needed one ball to get rid of him, bowling a low full-toss that the Australian failed to get under completely and holed out to Ravi Bopara at long-on. Kumar was then hit for two sixes by Sanju Samson off the next two deliveries. He then dragged his line slightly wide and forced Samson to stretch out to a full delivery only to get an inside-edge on to his stumps.

Then came the biggest test, with Chris Morris having swung the Royals back in the hunt with three consecutive sixes of Praveen Kumar in the penultimate over. Eighteen required of the last over. Kumar conceded a single boundary, earning Hyderabad a seven-run victory.

Smith’s rear-guard cameo

With Rahane and Watson having fallen in the early going, if Rajasthan Royals had to come anywhere close to the 202-run target they were chasing, Steve Smith had to play a blinder. And for the time he was there at the crease, the Australian looked to be doing just that. He started off with a couple of boundaries off Ishant Sharma before pouncing on Moises Henriques’ generous offerings. He was also extremely hostile towards Karn Sharma’s leg-spin, repeatedly jumping out of his crease to hit him over the straight field or staying back and putting away the short ball. Praveen Kumar did trouble him in one over, by setting a strong leg-side field and trying to get him lbw. Smith came close to falling into the trap, but was dropped by Moses Henriques in the deep. But he then fell to the innocuous medium-pace of Bopara, who nonchalantly had him bowled.