The Rajasthan Royals got off to a blockbuster start in IPL 2022 by registering a comprehensive win over the Sunrisers Hyderabad. Captain Sanju Samson scored a half-century to help his side set a 211-run target for Kane Williamson’s Hyderabad. Samson, who was the highest run-getter for the Royals last season, scored 55 off just 27 balls at a strike rate of over 200. New recruit Devdutt Padikkal was the second-best performer with a 29-ball 41. But it was Shimron Hetmyer who stole the show with a 13-ball 32 which came at a strike rate of over 245.
Earlier, openers Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal shared 58 runs for the first wicket. Buttler scored 35 off 28, while Jaiswal chipped in with 20 off 16.
Washington Sundar was the most expensive of all the Sunrisers bowlers. The allrounder leaked 47 runs in three overs without taking any wicket. Pacers Umran Malik and T Natarajan picked up two wickets apiece, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Romario Shepherd chipped in with one each.
While 211 was a difficult target, the Sunrisers who boast of a long batting line-up were expected to put up a better fight than they did. Their first four batsmen – Kane Williamson, Abhishek Sharma, Rahul Tripathi and Nicholas Pooran scored just 11 runs combined. Both Tripathi and Pooran were dismissed for a duck, while Williamson and uncapped Sharma scored 2 and 9 runs each.
It was then that Aiden Markram took it upon himself to sail the ship for the Sunrisers. Markram remained unbeaten on 57 off 41, but got little support from the others apart from Sundar, who hit a blazing knock of 40 off just 14 balls at a strike rate of 285. However, with no contribution from any other batsmen, the 2016 IPL champions eventually fell short of the target by 61 runs.
Yuzvendra Chahal was the standout bowler with 3 wickets, while pacers Trent Boult and Prasidh Krishna picked up two wickets each.
Image credit: IPL
