Jason Roy and skipper Kane Williamson hit half-centuries as the Sunrisers Hyderabad thrashed the Rajasthan Royals by seven wickets on Monday to record just their second win in this year’s Indian Premier League.

Roy, who made his debut for the Sunrisers after replacing struggling David Warner, made 60 off 42 balls to set up Hyderabad’s chase of 165 in Dubai.

Williamson smashed an unbeaten 51 and steered the team home in 18.3 overs with two successive boundaries that brought up his fifty in 41 deliveries.

The Sunrisers, who won their only crown in 2016 under Warner, still stay bottom of the eight-team table with little chance of qualifying for the playoffs.

“We obviously had a tough tournament, but to come out and play like that with a smile on the face, we got to keep our feet grounded and keep doing the right things,” said Man of the Match Roy, who sat out the first half of the T20 tournament in India.

The England opener stood out with his second IPL fifty-plus score in his first match of this Covid-19-hit season that resumed in the UAE earlier this month.

Roy, who hit eight fours and one six, put on key partnerships with fellow opener Wriddhiman Saha, who made 18, and Williamson of 57 each.

He finally fell caught behind off left-arm quick Chetan Sakariya, but Williamson stood firm to take the team home and give them their second win in 10 matches.

Earlier Royals skipper Sanju Samson hit 82 off 57 deliveries to guide the team to 164-5 after they elected to bat first.

Samson overtook Delhi Capitals opener Shikhar Dhawan as the tournament’s leading batsman with 433 runs in 10 matches and his team still in the hunt for the playoffs.

The Royals are sixth on the table led by Delhi.

© Agence France-Presse