In Sunday’s second Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 encounter at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) upset Rajasthan Royals (RR) by 44 runs thanks to an incredible century from Ishan Kishan.
As bowlers in Hyderabad experienced a difficult day, 528 runs were scored in 40 overs of the match, making it an absolutely exciting run-fest. Earlier, Kishan led the team to 286/6, the second-highest IPL total ever, with his first IPL century on his SRH debut.
Rajasthan had a disastrous start as they chased the massive mark of 287, losing skipper Riyan Parag (4), opener Yashasvi Jaiswal (1), and Nitish Rana (11) in the opening five overs. But Dhruv Jurel and Impact Substitute Sanju Samson gave Rajasthan’s innings the much-needed boost. The pair stitched a 111-run stand for the fourth wicket while maintaining the run-rate ticking close to the necessary run-rate.
Rajasthan had a disastrous start as they chased the massive mark of 287, losing skipper Riyan Parag (4), opener Yashasvi Jaiswal (1), and Nitish Rana (11) in the opening five overs. But Dhruv Jurel and Impact Substitute Sanju Samson gave Rajasthan’s innings the much-needed boost. The pair stitched a 111-run stand for the fourth wicket while maintaining the run-rate ticking close to the necessary run-rate.
While Dubey hit 34 not out at an electrifying strike rate of 309.09 with four sixes and a four off 11 balls, Hetmyer played a quickfire knock of 42 off 23 balls. Simranjeet Singh and Harshal Patel each took two wickets as Rajasthan ultimately managed to reach 242/6 in 20 overs.
Prior to this, Kishan was in cruise control mode from the beginning of his innings, relying on blazing runs from Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma. He responded to his detractors with a resounding IPL ton.
The SRH openers picked up where they left off last season when Abhishek launched an attack on the RR attack in the power-play after being asked to bat first. Against Fazalhaq Farooqi, the Indian opener opened the scoring with back-to-back fours in the opening over.
The team got off to a scorching start as Head from the opposite end hit Maheesh Theekshana for four and a six in the second over. Before Head finished Farooqi’s over with a six to amass 21 runs, Abhishek showed off his full potential by hitting three consecutive fours.
On the first ball of the fourth over, Theekshana dismissed Abhishek for 11-ball 24 and ended the opening partnership. Head was joined in the middle by Ishan Kishan, who took the lead by hitting back-to-back fours off Theekshana in the same over.
Jofra Archer was given an unforgettable greeting by Head in the fifth over, as the Australian hit four fours and a six off six deliveries to score 23 runs. SRH laid a strong foundation for the enormous total by amassing 94 in the power-play, including 16 from the sixth over.
Head stitched an 85-run quickfire partnership off 39 balls for the second wicket and reached his first half-century of the season in 21 deliveries despite the end-of-field restrictions. In the tenth over, pacer Tushar Deshpande removed him. Head hit nine fours and three sixes in his 31-ball 67.
Taking over where his predecessor left off at No. 4, Nitish Kumar Reddy hit two boundaries off Archer in the eleventh over.
Kishan, on the other hand, reached his half-century in 25 balls in his SRH debut after hitting back-to-back sixes off Archer. Before slamming Farooqi for a six behind square, he hit another six. Before Kishan hit four on the last ball of the over, Reddy joined the celebration and hit the short ball to deep square.
As SRH reached the 200-run milestone, Theekshana ended Nitish’s 15-ball 30-run stay in the 15th over. He and Kishan shared a 72-run partnership off of 29 balls. Additionally, it tied Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s 2016 victory over Punjab Kings as the second-fastest team 200 in IPL history.
With the aid of frequent boundaries, Heinrich Klaasen joined Kishan in keeping the franchise’s scoring rate high in the last part of the innings. Klaasen left after scoring 34 runs off 14 balls with five fours and a six, while the pair amassed 56 runs in just 25 balls. Kishan, meanwhile, became the season’s first player to reach the century mark after doing it off 45 balls. With 11 fours and six sixes in his knock, he was still undefeated at 106 off 47 balls.
While Theekshana returned with statistics of 2-52 in his four overs, Tushar Deshpande claimed three wickets for Rajasthan.
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