IPL 2018: Sunrisers Hyderabad Clinch Another Win Courtesy Sensational Bowling Performance

Well, the storyline is again the same, as Sunrisers Hyderabad bowlers produced yet another masterclass and defended a below-par target of 152 against the Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur.

After posting a moderate total on the board in 20 allotted overs, their bowlers did the job for Hyderabad by handing them 11-run victory in the end at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Sunday (April 29) evening.

Kane Williamson was the top scorer for Hyderabad with a composed 66 off just 43 balls. However, the Rajasthan bowlers made a strong comeback in the death overs restrict the visitors just above the 150-run mark.

It was Hyderabad skipper Kane Williamson who won the toss. Changing the trend he elected to bat first. When Danny Morrison asks Ajinkya Rahane at the toss that what he would have done if he had won the toss, he said they would have batted too.

Alex Hales made his debut for the Hyderabad team. He walked out to begin proceedings alongside Shikhar Dhawan. Hales began with a crisp drive and good pull of Dhawal Kulkarni.

On the other hand, Dhawan was dismissed early as off-spinner Krishnappa Gowtham castled him with a slider. It was a good delivery which breached Dhawan’s defence.

From there on, it was a brilliant partnership between Williamson and Hales which got them back to track. Hales began with exquisite drives and carried on the flow. He looked in really good touch and have cemented his place for at least the next three games.

Also Read: IPL 2018: The Surface was Definitely on the Slower Side with Slow Turn and Not a Lot of Bounce – Kane Williamson

Hard-hitting Hales struck four fours during his innings of 45 of 39 deliveries, before Gowtham returned in his second spell and provided the all-important breakthrough.

Williamson, on the other hand, continued his rich vein of form and ended up smashing yet another half-century. The two sixes over the extra cover region were simply gorgeous. His innings was studded with seven fours and a couple of maximums.

However, his innings was ended by his countrymen Ish Sodhi. He got an inside edge which was taken brilliantly by Jos Buttler behind the stumps.

Owing to a brilliant comeback by the Rajasthan Royals bowlers to restrict Hyderabad, hosts pulled things right back into the game.

Jofra Archer was quite brilliant and ended up bagging three crucial wickets in his four-over spell. Gowtham also bowled brilliantly and finished with impressive figures of two for 18 in his allotted four overs.

Chasing the modest total, skipper Ajinkya Rahane and Rahul Tripathi began proceedings. The latter was dismissed pretty early on, in the innings.

Sanju Samson came back to form with a fluent 40 of 30 deliveries. He struck some exceptional blows and in the process hit three fours and a six.

All-rounder Ben Stokes was dismissed on a duck as off-spinner Yusuf Pathan bagged his prized scalp. It was a short of length delivery which dislodged the bails.

There was no stopping for the Hyderabad bowlers from there on. They cashed in on the opportunity and dried out the boundaries. The wicket of Stokes proved to be crucial in the outcome of the match.

Yet again in the absence of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddharth Kaul made his presence felt and returned with figures of two for 23.

On the other end, Sandeep Sharma also provided a brilliant start in the powerplay. Eventually, he returned with figures of one for 15 in his four overs.

Also Read: IPL 2018: Match 29, Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kolkata Knight Riders – Toss Report

Brief Scores:

Sunrisers Hyderabad 151/7 in 20 overs (Kane Williamson 66, Jofra Archer 3/26, Krishnappa Gowtham 2/18)

Rajasthan Royals 140/6 in 20 overs (Ajinkya Rahane 65, Sanju Samson 40, Siddharth Kaul 2/23, Sandeep Sharma 1/15)

Sunrisers Hyderabad won by 11 runs