IPL 2020: Manish Pandey wants the top 3 to deliver after anchoring Hyderabad's chase

Manish Pandey said that it was high time for the Top-3 to perform after he anchored Hyderabad's run chase to perfection during their Dream11 IPL 2020 league match at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai on Thursday. Pandey scored an unbeaten 47-ball 83 and was involved in a 140-run stand for the third wicket along with Vijay Shankar (52*) after the Orange Army had lost two big wickets of skipper David Warner and Jonny Bairstow early on chasing a target of 155. 
In the end, the 2016 winners got past the finish line by 8 wickets and 11 balls to spare.

'High time for the top 3 to perform': Manish Pandey

"High time for the top 3 to perform. I just wanted to stay on the wicket and play my shots. Really happy that it came off today. We had the opportunity to win the game for SRH, really happy I'm standing here. We had plans to see Jofra off. We had a plan to take on the leggies and Indian bowlers, and it paid off. The first ball I middled through covers and I tried to keep my shape. I was hitting it well and I tried to get my team over the line. Vijay was also long due and he stepped up batting at 4. We are trying to take positives from this match and we'll try to keep it up for the rest of the tournament", said Pandey during the post-match interview.

His captain David Warner said that it has been a complete game and that is exactly what they have been asking for.

"I think the way we started was fantastic. We were able to bring it back after the powerplay. It's been a complete game, we have been asking for. Good to see two guys getting the reward for their hard work. I was frustrated. You try hard to get through the first over, but with someone bowling at 150ks, you can't do much. You can take him on. We saw a lot of dew last night during training, and it came in again. Jason adds strength to our bowling, his experience, he's an all-round package. He's a great inclusion. We do have a middle-order, there are always question on it. We haven't lost early wickets before, so they haven't got a chance. I have said in the past, we are a better defending team. You have to back yourself, no matter what. This cold weather and dew come in", said Warner.

His Rajasthan counterpart Steve Smith said that they could not keep the foot on the pedal despite starting well and premier pacer Jofra Archer managing to pick up two early wickets.

"We started well. Jofra taking two big wickets early but we couldn't keep the foot on the pedal. Vijay played smart innings and Manish took the game on and played really nicely. I consulted a few other boys, it was talked about but opted against it and in hindsight, after what happened, probably would've given him one moreover. It was on my mind. It got better as the game went on. It was slow and stopping in the first innings, it was one of those wickets which were quite hard to start on. We needed some more runs in the first innings. I can't put my finger on anything, there are plenty of good players and good teams. We haven't been able to pull back to back wins. We just need to keep winning and don't know how things will work for us mathematically, we have to keep winning, that's our job now", he said. 

(Image Courtesy: @IPL Twitter)