IPL 2020 / Hardik falls down after Archer's beamer, Suryakumar hit on helmet in same over

Cricket Desk: Eyeing to register a hat-trick of victories, Rohit Sharma-led side elected to bat first against Rajasthan Royals at Abu Dhabi in Match 20 of the tournament. The usual MI pair– skipper Rohit and Quinton de Kock– walked in the middle and stitched a steady 49-run opening stand to bolster their run-flow in the Powerplay.

But after the departure of both the openers, it was Suryakumar Yadav who rose to the occasion and slammed a brilliant 47-ball 79. The right-hander hit 11 fours and 2 sixes during the course of his blistering knock. In the end, he was assisted by Hardik Pandya’s batting exploits. The Baroda all-rounder, known for his explosive batting prowess, stitched 30 off just 19 deliveries as MI ultimately managed to post a daunting 193-run total on the scoreboard.

Hardik Pandya played that brilliantly: Stuart Broad

But in their pursuit to notch up a dominant total, the Suryakumar-Hardik pair also endured Jofra Archer’s fiery spell. The Englishman was bowling in excellent rhythm and on the first ball of the 18th over, the speedster bowled a dangerous 152 kmph beamer towards Hardik. The lethal beamer left Pandya baffled as he ducked to save his life.

Archer immediately put his hands up apologetically but had the ball hit Hardik’s head, it would’ve certainly been a fatal injury. Reacting to Archer’s bizarre delivery, Stuart Broad came in support of the Barbadian-born pacer. While lauding Hardik’s Broad said that no bowler actually means these deliveries.

“He’s played that brilliantly. I don’t think any bowler ever means these…,” tweeted Broad. Veteran James Anderson also reacted to the video by posting three amused emojis.

Archer didn’t stop there. Two balls later, Suryakumar was at the receiving end as Archer’s bouncer hit his helmet, forcing concussion test on the ground by MI team doctor. Suryakumar, unaffected by the delivery, retaliated on the very next delivery and smashed Archer for a six. The right-handed batsman reverse scooped the delivery and sent the ball over the boundary rope.

Rajasthan Royals, in response to MI’s batting show, lost three early wickets in the form of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Steve Smith and Sanju Samson. After suffering two consecutive defeats, the Rajasthan franchise is eager to get back to winning ways and bolster their IPL 2020 campaign.