Roy Joy for SRH

SRH opener Jason Roy en route his half-century against RR yesterday. Pics/BCCI, IPL

Opener Jason Roy and skipper Kane Williamson struck confident half-centuries to shape Sunrisers Hyderbad's comfortable seven-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals as IPL play-off calculations got a bit more complicated, here on Monday.

Opting to bat, the Royals scored 164 for five on the back of a well-calculated 82-run knock by skipper Sanju Samson on a sticky wicket where stroke-making was difficult. However, the score proved insufficient as Roy (60 off 42) and Williamson (51 not out)_led the team to their only second win of the season.

The loss has dented the Royals' play-off chances as they remained at the sixth spot with eight points while Sunrisers, who have been ruled out for the playoffs, remained at the bottom of the table.

Also Read: IPL 2021: Rajasthan Royals set SRH 165-run target

Four teams in fray

Now four teams - Kolkata Knight Riders, Punjab Kings, Royals and Mumbai Indians - are tied on eight points each and all are alive in the play-off race in which CSK and Delhi Capitals are firm favourites for the top two places with 16 points each.

Williamson during his unbeaten 51

Chasing 165, Roy, playing his first match for Sunrisers, and Wriddhiman Saha (18 off 11) raced to 57 for no loss.

The two plundered 18 runs off the fifth over, bowled by Chris Morris, that included four fours.

The fine partnership was broken by spinner Mahipal Lomror (1-22).

Williamson and Roy, without taking much risks, continued to milk runs to take Sunrisers to 90 for one with 10 overs.

Roy was dropped on 55 by Yashasvi Jasiwal off Rahul Tewatia but was caught off rookie pacer Chetan Sakaria (1-32) soon after.

Samson's 82 in vain

Earlier, Samson produced his second consecutive fifty after conjuring up an unbeaten 70 against Delhi Capitals. The captain sent the ball seven times to the fence and three times over it in his impressive 57-ball innings, with which he became the leading run-scorer (433) of the season, surpassing DC's Shikhar Dhawan (430).

Brief scores
RR 164-5 (S Samson 82, Y Jaiswal 36; S Kaul 2-36, B Kumar 1-28) lost to SRH 167-3 in 18.3 overs (J Roy 60, K Williamson 51'; M Lomror 1-22) by seven wickets.

Also Read: Punjab Kings' Markram credits incredible bowling for win over hapless SRH

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