Yuzvendra Chahal claimed a four-fer as RR crushed SRH in their first match of IPL 2023 (Pic Credit: Sportzpics)
It was a dominant show from the Royals as they completely outclassed SRH in all three departments to claim two crucial points
Runners-up of last season Rajasthan Royals started their Indian Premier League 2023 on a high with a massive 72-run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad. It was a dominant show from the Royals as they completely outclassed SRH in all three departments to claim two crucial points. The massive win also helped them achieve a good Net Run Rate of +3.60.
On a pitch where Sunrisers Hyderabad bowlers leaked 203 runs, Rajasthan Royals bowlers put their A-game on the table to restrict the hosts to 131/8. Trent Boult ran riot with the new ball as he dismissed Abhishek Sharma and Rahul Tripathi in the first over for ducks. While Yuzvendra Chahal took over the charge in the middle overs to spin his web and collect 4 wickets to dismantle the SRH batting line-up. He finished his four-over spell with sensational figures of 4/17.
Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Rajasthan Royals IPL 2023 Highlights
Impact Player Abdul Samad was the leading run-getter for the Sunrisers as he scored 32 off 32 balls. His close friend from Jammu and Kashmir Umran Malik (19 off 8 balls) also entertained home fans with a couple of sixes.
The massive 204-run chase began on a horrible note for the Sunrisers as Boult ran riot in the first over of the Sunrisers Hyderabad’s innings. Left-handed Abhishek was clean bowled on the third ball of the over as he failed to read the inswinger well. While Tripathi charged down the ground on the fifth ball to break the shackles but only managed to edge it behind stumps where Holder dived to his left to grab a stunning catch.
SRH’s million-dollar player Harry Brook also failed to impress on his IPL debut and was dismissed for just 13 off 21 balls as they failed to recover and lost wickets at regular wickets. While opener Mayank Agarwal scored 27 runs on his first outing for SRH.
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Earlier, Riding on half-centuries from Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sanju Samson, Rajasthan Royals posted a massive 203/5.
Put in to bat, the Royals got off to a flying start with Jos Buttler smacking 54 off 22 balls (7×4, 3×6). Promising uncapped Indian Yashasvi Jaiswal made an identical 54 (37b; 9×4) as the opening duo put together 85 runs inside the Powerplay.
After the duo’s departure, skipper Sanju Samson maintained their momentum in his 32-ball 55 (3×4, 4×6).
T Natarajan (3-0-23-2) was the pick of SRH bowler and dragged the Royals back in a tidy penultimate over where he dismissed Samson and gave away just seven runs. Left-arm Afghan pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi returned with 2 for 41. Tearaway pacer Umran Malik also claimed a wicket of Devdutt Padikkal. While stand-in skipper Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Adil Rashid and Washington Sundar remained wicketless in their first match of the season.
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