5th match, SRH vs RR, IPL 2022: RR won by 61 runs
On Tuesday, 29th March, at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune, the Rajasthan Royals won their opening game of the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). The Rajasthan Royals dominated the batting department, amassing a massive score of 210-6 before the RR spinners, led by Yuzvendra Chahal, reduced the Sunrisers to 149-7. SRH openers Kane Williamson and Abhishek Sharma were met with some furious pace bowling from Trent Boult and Prasidh Krishna as they chased a tall target of 211.
After Williamson was caught by Devdutt Padikkal, who took a juggling catch in the slips off Krishna's bowling, the SRH skipper became the first casualty. Rahul Tripathi, who nicked the ball back to the keeper, became the right-arm pacer's second wicket. After the left-handed batter was stuck in front, Boult removed Nicholas Pooran in the next over. At the completion of the powerplay, the Sunrisers were down 14-3. Aiden Markram has joined opener Abhishek Sharma in the middle of the SRH's rebuilding phase.
Yuzvendra Chahal was brought into the attack, and the leg-spinner struck quickly after Sharma's lofted ball was caught by the long-on fielder. The Sunrisers were 36-4 at half-time, and things got much worse for them when Abdul Samad was caught in the deep by Hetmyer, who took a simple catch as Chahal took his second wicket of the innings. In the 14th over, Markram was joined by Romario Shephard, who smashed consecutive sixes against Nathan Coulter-Nile. Chahal produced a full-length delivery to pick up his third wicket, bringing Shephard's innings to a close.
The Sunrisers appeared to be unable to attain their goal. The following man in, Washington Sundar, smashed 24 runs off Nathan Coulter Nile's 17th over. In the same over, the left-handed all-rounder timed the ball beautifully and smacked four fours and a six. Sundar added another four and a six to the tally in the penultimate over as SRH narrowed the target deficit, but the batter was caught in the deep off Boult's bowling, ending a quick-fire innings of 40 off just 14 deliveries. Markram completed his half-century with a four and a six in the final over of the innings, but SRH fell 62 runs short of the target.
The Rajasthan Royals, led by Sanju Samson, were given the opportunity to bat first. The game began with a spectacular first over bowled by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, which saw Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal open the RR innings. Buttler edged one to the slips, but Bhuvneshwar Kumar overstepped on the same ball, giving Buttler an early reprieve. The Sunrisers paid the price for the no-ball, as Buttler made his debut with his famous ramp shot. In the fourth over, the right-handed opener smashed 21 runs off Umran Malik's bowling, including three fours and two maximums.
Washington Sundar conceded 18 runs in the next over, with Yashasvi Jaiswal joining the party with a maximum. With 58 runs on the board at the end of six overs, the Royals were unblemished, but SRH fought back immediately after powerplay. After Markram caught Jaiswal in the deep for 20, RomarioShephard dismissed him for 20. Sanju Samson, the RR captain, joined the dangerous-looking Buttler and struck right away, hitting Abhishek Sharma for four and six. With RR 87-2 at the 10-over mark, the Royals captain kept the momentum going with his clean striking, and was joined by left-handed batter Devdutt Padikkal on the other hand.
In the next two overs, Samson and Padikkal combined to score 27 runs, with both batsmen hammering fours and sixes. As the Royals blasted 17 runs off Shephard's fifteenth over, Padikkal took over the striking duties and the fifty partnership was up for the third wicket. Pacer Malik halted the blazing partnership by dismissing Padikkal with a back of a length delivery that smashed into the stumps. After smashing two massive sixes against Sundar, Samson reached fifty, but the RR captain was caught in the next over while attempting to clear the ropes against Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
The two new hitters at the plate, Riyan Parag and Shimron Hetmyer, continued the Royals' batting dominance as Natarajan allowed 18 runs in the 17th over. As RR neared the 200-run mark, Hetmyer hammered consecutive sixes against Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the penultimate over. However, Natarajan's yorker in the final over castled the left-handed hitter, and the Royals finished the first innings with a massive score of 210/6.
Scores in brief: Sunrisers Hyderabad 149/7 (Aiden Markram 57*, Washington Sundar 40; Yuzvendra Chahal 3-22) were defeated by Rajasthan Royals 210/6 (Sanju Samson 55, Devdutt Padikkal 41; Umran Malik 2-39) by 61 runs.
