Finalists of previous season Rajasthan Royals (RR) started off their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 campaign with a massive win over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad. After Trent Boult’s double wicket-maiden, SRH could not recover and lost the match by a huge margin of 72 runs. They missed their skipper Aiden Markram’s services as he was busy smashing a record 175 against Netherlands in Johannesburg during the clash.
In the run chase of 204, SRH lost two wickets in the first over itself. Boult started off with the wicket of Abhishek Sharma with an out-swinging yorker. He followed it up with the wicket of Rahul Tripathi who ended one to slip fielder Jason Holder. The Caribbean all-rounder took a blinder diving to his left. After the double-wicket maiden, Mayank Agarwal and Harry Brook could not do much damage. After powerplay overs, SRH had 30/2 on the board.
In the seventh over, Yuzvendra Chahal ended Harry Brook's troubled stay at the crease. SRH's Rs 13.25 crore recruit could score just 13 runs from 21 balls. Washington Sundar pulled across the line and handed an easy catch to mid-off fielder. Sundar got out after scoring just one run. Glenn Phillips got off the mark with a six but could not continue as he miscued one off Ravichandran Ashwin. In the 10th over, SRH lost half their side for just 48 runs.
Running out of partners, Agarwal went for a slog-sweep against Chahal but found Buttler at long-off. Impact player Navdeep Saini leaked few runs in his first over. Adil Rashid tried to boost the scoring rate but became Chahal's third victim of the match. Meanwhile, Abdul Samad struggled to hit even a single boundary. Stand-in skipper Bhuvneshwar Kumar fell to Chahal as he equalled former Mumbai Indians pacer Lasith Malinga’s tally of wickets (170).
In the penultimate over, Umran Malik entertained the crowd with a four and six off Boult. In the final over, Samad broke free and hit Saini for a six. Malik got on the strike and he hit two consecutive sixes. Samad hit two more boundaries to reduce the deficit. He contributed with a run-a-ball 32. On the other end, Malik contributed with a cameo of 19 from eight deliveries. SRH managed to post 131/8 on the board and lost the game by 72 runs.
Earlier Bhuvneshwar won the toss and opted to field first. Royals got off to a blazing start. Openers Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal dominated the bowlers during fielding restrictions and crossed the 50-run mark in the fourth over. Buttler reached his half-century from just 20 balls. Fazalhaq Farooqi managed to break the opening partnership. Buttler scored 54 runs from 22 balls including seven fours and three sixes. After powerplay overs, RR had 85 runs on the board. This was Royals' highest score in powerplay overs.
Jaiswal and Sanju Samson carried forward the momentum. Samson scored boundaries at ease. In the 12th over, Jaiswal reached his half-century from 34 deliveries. Farooqi came back into the attack and broke the partnership. Jaiswal went for a big hit against left-arm spinner but was caught at deep mid-wicket. In the 15th over, Umran Malik made up sent Devdutt Padikkal's off stump for a walk with a near-150 kmph delivery. Riyan Parag (7) could not stay long at the middle either and become Farooqi's third victim of the day.
Meanwhile, Samson got to his half-century from 28 deliveries. In the 18th over, Bhuvneshwar was hit for a four and a six. T Natarajan struck in the penultimate over. He got rid of Royals skipper. He scored 55 runs from 32 balls including three fours and four sixes. In the final over, Royals crossed the 200-run mark. Shimron Hetmyer stayed unbeaten for 22 off 16 balls as Royals posted 203/5 on the board.
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