Rajasthan Royals began the IPL 2023 with a dominating win over Sunrisers Hyderabad played at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad on 2 April.
SRH stand-in captain Bhuvneshwar Kumar won the toss and decided to field first. Yaishvi Jaiswal showed intent right from word go while Jos Buttler kept the pressure on SRH with his aggressive intent. Buttler put enough pressure on SRH bowlers hitting boundaries and sixes at will to keep RR’s momentum going reaching his fifty off just 20 deliveries.
Afghan bowler Farqooi eventually got the breakthrough dismissing Buttler with a beauty. Buttler and Jaiswal put on 85 runs for the opening wicket laying a strong foundation for a big total.
After the field restrictions, Jaiswal and Samson continued their attacking style of play keeping the pressure on SRH bowlers. Jaiswal completed his half-century too off 34 deliveries. Farqooi struck to dismiss the dangerous Jaiswal caught by Mayank Agarwal.
Jaiswal and Samson added 54 runs for the 2nd wicket. Samson showed his class and kept the scoreboard ticking. RR captain Samson also reached his half-century off 28 deliveries.
Umran Malik produced a stunning delivery to dismiss Devdutt Paddikal. T Natarajan impressed with his bowling getting wickets of Samson and Riyan Parag. Despite SRH’s decent effort, Rajasthan Royals scored 203 for 5 in 20 overs.
Yuzvendra Chahal Goes Up The Ladder As Leading Wicket-Taker
Last year’s Purple Cap winner Yuzvendra Chahal is equal with Lasith Malinga in terms of leading wicket-taker in IPL history. It was an ideal start for RR as Trent Boult dismissed Abhishek Sharma and Rahul Tripathi to derail the SRH innings.
Yuzvendra Chahal struck immediately after the first six overs to dismiss struggling Harry Brooks. RR bowlers kept picking wickets at regular intervals not allowing SRH batters to score runs easily. Chahal then dismissed Mayank Agarwal to pick up his 2nd wicket. He was simply amazing picking up 4 wickets for 17 runs in 4 overs.
Chahal has now 170 wickets from 132 matches ( 131 innings) with the best figures of 5 for 40 against Kolkata Knight Riders in 2022. He featured for Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and now for Rajasthan Royals. Chahal picked up 4 wicket haul in IPL history four times while five-wicket haul once.
Rajasthan Royals registered comprehensive win by 72 runs. For his 54 off 22 deliveries, Jos Buttler was named player of the match award.
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