Sunrisers Hyderabad, known for their powerful batting lineup, have shown their explosive form right from the beginning of their campaign. Newly inducted Ishan Kishan (106* runs off 47 balls, 11 fours, 6 sixes) scored a brilliant century, helping Hyderabad to register the second-highest team score in IPL history and defeat Rajasthan Royals by 44 runs. Personally, Ishan achieved his maiden IPL century in this match.
Just like in last year’s playoffs, Sunrisers once again tasted sweet victory over Rajasthan, continuing their winning streak against the team. Rajasthan, who were aiming to avenge past defeats, crumbled under the pressure of a huge target. Though impact player Sanju Samson and wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel tried to fight back with the bat, they couldn’t prevent the loss and Rajasthan ended up losing their opening match.
On Sunday, Hyderabad posted a massive target of 287 runs, while Rajasthan could only manage 242/6. Adding to Rajasthan’s woes, their English bowler Jofra Archer conceded 76 runs in just 4 overs, making him the most expensive bowler in IPL history — a bitter pill for the Royals to swallow.
Ishan, playing his first match for Hyderabad, won the Player of the Match award for his explosive knock. Alongside him, Travis Head (67 runs off 31 balls), Heinrich Klaasen (34 off 14), Nitish Kumar Reddy (30 off 15), and Abhishek Sharma (24 off 11) rained boundaries and sixes, raising hopes that Hyderabad might become the first team to cross 300 runs in IPL history.
However, despite the aggressive batting, Klaasen got out on the second ball of the 19th over, and they fell short by just 14 runs, ending on 286/6 — just 1 run short of the highest-ever team score in IPL history (287/3), which also happens to be held by Hyderabad themselves.
With this score, Hyderabad now holds four out of the top five highest team totals in IPL history. In this memorable innings, they hit 46 boundaries (34 fours, 12 sixes) — a new record.
Rajasthan’s chase derailed right from the second over. Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal scored just 1, captain Riyan Parag fell for 4, and Nitish Rana managed only 11, making it clear the team was heading toward a heavy defeat. However, Samson, Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer (42), and Shubham Dubey (34 off 11)* tried their best with some fine batting. Though they couldn’t secure a win, they at least saved the team from an embarrassing defeat.
