Clinical Sunrisers stun returning Rajasthan

The result: Sunrisers Hyderabad 1-127 (Dhawan 77no, Unadkat 1-28) defeated Rajasthan Royals 9-125 (Samson 49, Kaul 2-17) by nine wickets.

The match in a tweet: A David Warner-less Sunrisers Hyderabad clinical against returning Rajasthan Royals, Shikhar Dhawan the star #SRHvRR

 

The collapse: The Royals returned after a two-year ban resulting from a corruption and spot-fixing probe for their first match, sent in to bat by Kane Williamson’s side and posting a respectable 1-48 from the powerplay. With Sanju Samson and Ajinkye Rahane at the crease they looked to build a big total but a potent Sunrisers attack had other ideas. The next 14 overs yielded just 77 runs, but more importantly for the orange - eight wickets, including a collapse of 6-31 through the middle order, Shakib Al Hasan (2-23), Rashid Khan (1-23) and Siddarth Kaul (2-17) the main destroyers.

The run out: It was the hotly anticipated IPL debut of Hobart Hurricanes master blaster D’Arcy Short, and the left-hander was thrust straight into the action as his side were sent in to bat. Carrying a price tag of $775K, much was expected from Short and a flick off middle stump for a boundary and his first IPL runs seemed a sign of things to come. But the opener struck a ball straight to mid-off and took on Kane Williamson with the Aussie coming off second-best, caught short by a metre and dismissed for just four. It was the start the Sunrisers were looking for with the dangerous hitter dismissed in the first over of the match.

The Kiwi King: New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson played just seven of a possible 14 matches in last year’s edition of the IPL, sitting behind David Warner, Shikhar Dhawan and Yuvraj Singh in the impressive top order for Hyderabad. But with the suspension of Warner in the ball-tampering saga, Williamson was elevated to captain in his place and had a great showing in his first match at the helm. He dismissed D’Arcy Short with a direct hit run out, then took a tricky catch to remove the dangerous Ben Stokes. Top that off with an unbeaten-36 to anchor the innings alongside Dhawan and it’s a big tick for the new captain in game one.

 

The Aussie Pack: Each Australian on the two franchises played in the opening match, Sunrisers quick Billy Stanlake (1-29) claiming the key wicket of Ben Stokes and rushing the batsmen with pace and bounce. For the returning Royals, D’Arcy Short (4) will look to have a better outing in his next match after an ill-timed single saw his demise, whilst Ben Laughlin (0-20) was expensive from his two overs against a rampaging Dhawan and Williamson in full flight.

The Next Stop: A short turnaround for Rajasthan with the Royals due to take on Glenn Maxwell’s Delhi Daredevils on Thursday morning with both sides looking for their first victory of IPL 11. The Sunrisers will play the Mumbai Indians on Friday morning for a chance to retain their position at the top of the ladder.