Rajasthan Royals made a massive impact in their opening match of IPL 2022 with a dominating win over Sunrisers Hyderabad. The Sanju Samson-led side, that finished seventh on the points table last season, revamped their squad in IPL 2022 auction and produced a stellar performance on Tuesday to make sure every franchise takes them seriously in the upcoming matches. It was an all-round performance from the Royals in every department as they beat Sunrisers by 61 runs.
The inclusion of new players like Yuzvendra Chahal, Devdutt Padikkal, Shimron Hetmyer, Trent Boult and Prasidh Krishna, have made Rajasthan a team to look out for. While Sunrisers need to sort their batting line-up moving forward in the tournament. Though it was the first match of tournament and things can go here and there for any team but losing half a side for just 37 runs is a sign of concern for any team.
Here are the talking points from Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Rajasthan Royals match.
Sensational Samson
Sanju Samson impressed many with both his batting and captaincy prowess in his first match of the season. The Royals captain came out to bat at number 3 and paced his innings quite well on a surface which was assisting the fast bowlers a bit. Samson took on the charge over the opposition bowlers and smashed 55 runs off just 27 balls. He attacked the loose balls at regular intervals to put Sunrisers bowlers under pressure. He shared a crucial 73-run stand for the fourth wicket with Devdutt Padikkal to set up the platform for his team. Defending the mammoth target, Samson used his bowlers effectively as he used three overs of Krishna in the powerplay where he was troubling the batters with his pace and bounce. The pressure kept mounting on Sunrisers as they were reduced to 37/5 in the 11th over.
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Fiery Malik
SRH made a gamble ahead of the season by retaining uncapped Umran Malik and the young pacer didn’t disappoint them in their opening match of the season. The Jammu and Kashmir pacer put up a show with some raw pace which troubled the Rajasthan batters.
However, it was not an ideal start for Malik as he leaked 21 runs in the first over where Buttler smacked him for a couple of sixes and as many fours to put him under pressure. But he backed his ability and came to bowl his second over where he dismissed Buttler on the first ball. He deceived the Englishman with his raw pace as Buttler edged the ball to the wicketkeeper.
While he got the better of Padikkal on the last ball of his final over when he was well set in the middle with 41 runs. Malik bowled a length ball and Padikkal got deceived by his pace and was castled. However, he ended up leaking 39 runs in his 4-over spell. The pacer was clocking 140kmph plus deliveries at regular intervals and even touched the 150 mark which made him the talk of the town.
Former RCB Boys Shine in RR Colours
Royals did some smart business in the auction to sign two former Royal Challengers Bangalore – Devdutt Padikkal and Yuzvendra Chahal. RCB made a mess by not retaining the two players who won several matches for them in the past and Rajasthan jumped on the opportunity to get their hands on that.
The duo started their new journey on a positive note with scintillating performances which played a crucial role in their team’s win. Padikkal, who played as an opener for his RCB, batted in the middle order for Rajasthan Royals in his first match in their jersey. At number 4, the southpaw scored impressive 41 runs off 29 balls which provide Rajasthan the adequate balance in the middle order.
While on the other hand, Chahal just did what he is known for – picking crucial wickets. The wrist-spinner was the pick of the bowlers with his three scalps for just 22 runs. He put constant pressure on the Sunrisers batters with his variations which closed their doors to recover from early blows.
SRH Batting Woes Continue
Last season, Sunrisers finished at the bottom of the points table and after that, they made big decisions and released players like David Warner and Jonny Bairstow. They also failed to retain their best bowler for the past many years, Rashid Khan.
In the opening match of the season, nothing went right for them, especially in the batting department where half their side was back in the pavilion in the 11th over with just 37 runs on the scoreboard. Two of the top 5 batters – Nicholas Pooran and Rahul Tripathi were dismissed for ducks. SRH have to understand if they want to qualify for the playoffs then Pooran needs to find his form as early as possible as he brings the X-factor to the team with his 360-degree power hitting. Aiden Markam (57*) and Washington Sundar (40) were the only saving grace for Sunrisers at a surface where the opposition easily scored 200-plus runs.
Royals’ Daunting Pace Attack
With legendary Lasith Malinga on the coaching staff, Rajasthan have one of the best pace attacks in the tournament this season. The likes of Krishna and Boult made an instant impact in their first match in new jersey. Nathan Coulter-Nile had an off day but the Aussie pacer has all the credentials of a quality bowler in T20 cricket. Looking at their bench, RR have Obed McCoy and Navdeep Saini waiting for the opportunity. The spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal is the best they can ask to complement such a pace attack.
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