Jason Roy
They say patience is virtue and Jason Roy couldn't agree more. He "trained, and waited hard" for his opportunity for almost the entire season, eventually getting that chance in the fa-end of the tournament and the English opener made the most of it. On his debut for Sunrisers Hyderabad, six months after joining the franchise, Roy smashed 42-ball 60 to guide SRH to their second win in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021, against Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Dubai International Stadium on Monday.
Roy and Wriddhiman Saha made an impactful start to the chase of 165 with their 57-run stand before the English opener combined with captain Kane Williamson to stitch a 60-run partnership. Roy laced eight boundaries and a six en route to his second IPL half-century as SRH cruised to the taget with nine balls remaining.
"Makes me extremely happy. Really grateful for the opportunity from Sunrisers. Have been training, and waiting hard. Grateful for this award too - we had some great performances today. Happy to get over the line. I had to kind of access different areas. Wasn't as free-flowing the way I hope. It was a case of getting the team close to the total," Roy sai in the post-match presentation.
Roy also credited Saha for his 11-ball 18 that helped SRH to amass 63 runs in the powerplay.
"Saha was instrumental in that partnership. Allowed me to relax early on. We've got to keep our feet very grounded," he added.
Sunrisers are still alive in the race to the playoffs, despite having lost eight matches this season. A win in all the remaining games will keep in well alive for a spot in the playoffs. They will next play table-toppers Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on September 30 in Sharjah.
"Good feeling. We can say the performance was improved. There was clarity in roles too. Good to be on the right side. Want to build on this, want to see the younger players take their opportunity and enjoy the cricket. Last two overs with the ball were critical," captain Williamson added.
