Shikhar Dhawan and Kane Williamson put up 121 runs between them to take SRH over the line. (Source: PTI)
Sunrisers Hyderabad produced the perfect bowling performance to stifle Rajasthan Royals. Captain Kane Williamson led by example, diving around on the field and ensuring that any catch that came his way stuck to his hands, all the while orchestrating the field. Rajasthan Royals never got going, even when Rahane and Samson had a little partnership it was devoid of a good strike rate. SRH then came out to bat and there looked to be some light at the end of the tunnel for Rajasthan when Saha was dismissed early. But that light turned out to be that of a speeding train as Kane Williamson and Shikhar Dhawan ran them over. They put up 121 runs for the second wicket and saw SRH over the finishing line
Highlights
Sunrisers Hyderabad beat Rajasthan Royals by 9 wickets
Shikhar Dhawan ends the match with a four, SRH have reached 127 for the loss of one wicket with more than four overs to spare. If there was ever an emphatic win, this was it. Rajasthan Royals have been blown off the park here.
WICKET! Saha c Laughlin b Unadkar, SRH 6/1
No drops this time! Unadkat's first ball is dispatched for a four by Saha but he doesn't survive for long after that. Length ball that he tries to get past mid-off unsuccessfully and the first Hyderabad pin falls
Rajasthan Royals 125/9 after 20 overs, Sunrisers Hyderabad have to make 126 to win
SRH have absolutely stifled RR for runs here. Brilliant fielding, disciplined bowling and the hosts have done half the job already. Kane Williamson led by example, diving around on the field without a care in the world, ensuring that any catch that comes his way sticks to his hands, all the while screaming out instructions and orchestrating the field. He has just had a great Test series against England with New Zealand and is carrying that momentum into the IPL. Rahane will be dissapointed with the way his batsmen have surrendered. They do have a few big names in their line up but all of them were like guns in water today.
GONE! Sanju Samson 49 c Rashid b Shakib, Rajasthan 49
Shakib gets another and it is that man Rashid Khan again! Heartbreak for Sanju Samson, he misses out on his 50 by one run. Shakib draws out Samson here, bowling it slow outside off and Samson comes out, just as the Bangaldeshi would have expected him to, Rashid sprints in, slides on his knees to complete the catch. Wow!
GONE! Ben Stokes 5, c Williamson b Stanlake Rajasthan Royals 63/3
Williamson again and this time it is dangerman Stokes. Stokes looking to hit this one over long-on, doesn't get enough on it, Williamson spills it initially but he somehow gets the ball back in his hands. That is a biggie!
GONE! Ajinkya Rahane 13 c Rashid b Kaul, Rajasthan 52/2
Rashid looks a little surprised himself that he took that catch. Rahane picks him out in the deep. Rashid speeding in from the square leg puts in the dive and takes the catch. Rajasthan are not in a great place at the moment.
Rajasthan 41/1 after 5 overs
Rahane and Samson are keeping things steady. No flashy shots attempted and the priority clearly is conserving wickets at this point. Stanlake and Shakib are alternating at the moment.
SRH win the toss and elect to bowl first
Ajinkya Rahane reckons he also would have bowled first had he won the toss. But he is confident that his batters can put up a good total. Heinrich Klaasen, who was brought on as Smith's replacement is not in the playing XI. It means we can expect Jos Buttler behind the stumps. A few laughs as Kane Williamson succesfully remembers the names of his overseas players.
So these are the overseas players:
SRH: Rashid Khan, Billy Stanlake, Kane Williamson, Shakib Al HasanRR: Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, D'Arcy Short, Ben Laughlin
I enjoy playing long innings. It benefits the team, it benefits me. I'm just trying to stretch the good form as long as possible. [About making up for Warner's absence] I've been playing more aggressively, not just in the IPL, but even for India in South Africa and Sri Lanka. I'm just continuing that formula. We have a very balanced side and we have all bases covered. That is the key. It's just the start of the tournament and we hope to keep the rhythm going.
No doubt we miss David. We played well as a team, the fielding effort was brilliant so nice to take the points. All the bowlers played their part picked up wickets at key times, once again a good team performance, we do want to impove as well coming into the next ball. It wasn't planned thing (short balls) it was a really good wicket, something there for spinners and bowlers. I had the best seat in the house (Dhawan). Brilliant contribution from him and also from Saha.
Shikhar Dhawan ends the match with a four, SRH have reached 127 for the loss of one wicket with more than four overs to spare. If there was ever an emphatic win, this was it. Rajasthan Royals have been blown off the park here.
The equation is simple now. SRH need 3 runs to win off a whopping 26 balls. They are just taking their own sweet time with it.
Dhawan on 71, Williamson on 35. Just one meaty hit over the boundary would do it for Hyderabad now. This is a comprehensive win for SRH and this will affect Rajasthan's net run rate.
Dhawan is now on 70 and Williamson on 30. Dhawan gets an outside edge that runs away to the boundary. Luck is completely on SRH's side. They are walking to a win now
Gopal with a googly to Williamson and there is an LBW appeal. Umpire turns it down and RR go for the review. There is a spike as the ball passes the bat and that means he is safe. Williamson follows that up with a four straight over the umpire's head.
A four to bring up his 50, he has done so in 33 balls. He then gets another four and then attempts a run, Williamson sends him back and it is a direct hit. Umpires go upstairs and replays show he is safe.
They are just chugging along nicely now. No big shots but none are needed. Williamson and Dhawan now have 73 runs between them.
Dhawan is going at a rate of at least one boundary per over, which is too much to concede when a team is defending 126. He moves to 47 off 28 with consecutive fours.
Williamson was taken at mid-on but that was free hit. Williamson then brings Dhawan on stike who then hits a couple of fours to make a bad over even worse for Laughlin. SRH are cruising along to a win here.
This is turning into a non-competition now. Dhawan and Williamson are nicely set and Rajasthan are struggling to keep things together on the field. As of now, it will take an almighty collapse for SRH to lose this match.
Williamson smashes 12 runs off Unadkat's over. He got off the mark with a boundary and then a six after a dot ball and then ran two runs to add the finishing touches to another terrible over for Rajasthan,.
Shikhar Dhawan hits the fifth ball of Kulkarni's over for a six and that is also the first maximum of the match! That should give you an idea as to how bad Rajasthan were. It is Dhawan and Williamson in the middle at the moment, not a bad pair of names to have fending off deliveries.
Shikhar Dhawan has had his fair share of luck. First Rahane dropped a sitter off him and then he got an outside edge off Unadkat that flew over first slip to race away to the boundary. He then hits a gour off Kulkarni, this time the shot is completely under his control. Rajasthan have to try and get either him or Kane Williamson quickly.
No drops this time! Unadkat's first ball is dispatched for a four by Saha but he doesn't survive for long after that. Length ball that he tries to get past mid-off unsuccessfully and the first Hyderabad pin falls
Dhawan dropped at slips by Rahane! How in the world did he drop that? Dhawan has a slash and ends up edging it straight to Rahane and the ball simply bounces out of his hands. This is exactly what Rajasthan shouldn't be doing.
Wriddhiman Saha and Shikhar Dhawan open the innings for Hyderabad, Dhawal Kulkarni with the new ball. Saha had scored a century once while opening the innings for Kings XI Punjab against Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2014 final.
SRH have absolutely stifled RR for runs here. Brilliant fielding, disciplined bowling and the hosts have done half the job already. Kane Williamson led by example, diving around on the field without a care in the world, ensuring that any catch that comes his way sticks to his hands, all the while screaming out instructions and orchestrating the field. He has just had a great Test series against England with New Zealand and is carrying that momentum into the IPL. Rahane will be dissapointed with the way his batsmen have surrendered. They do have a few big names in their line up but all of them were like guns in water today.
Yusuf Pathan with a bullet throw from the boundary and Unadkat is not even in the fram when Saha takes off the stumps. Rajasthan have crumbled.
OUT! Gopal looks to go big over long on, ends up putting it down his throat, Rajasthan 122/8
Ajinkya Rahane, Ben Stokes, Rahul Tripathi and Jos Buttler all back in the hut now. As far as batting goes, this is one match that Rajasthan would like to forget so far. There is still two overs left but the visitors' batsmen haven't done their bowlers any favours here.
Plays on! Googly from Rashid and Buttler is all over the place, ends up getting an inside edge on to the stumps and Rashid Khan revels in that sweet noice of the ball hitting the stumps and the crowd cheering.
They are falling everywhere now, the wickets. Krishnappa Gowtham tries something that is between a pull and a fend, the ball balloons up in the air but to the kind of height that wicketkeepers catch like they are walking in the garden and whistling a Bollywood tune while at it.
Shakib gets another and it is that man Rashid Khan again! Heartbreak for Sanju Samson, he misses out on his 50 by one run. Shakib draws out Samson here, bowling it slow outside off and Samson comes out, just as the Bangaldeshi would have expected him to, Rashid sprints in, slides on his knees to complete the catch. Wow!
No luck after all. Tripathi is the next man to fall and these wickets are a big worry for Rajasthan. An attempted slog and he picks out long on.
Rahul Tripathi dropped on 16 by Billy Stanlake and he later survives an LBW appeal. Is this the kind of luck he needs to get going? Only time will tell.
Rahul Tripathi is finding that extra gear that Rajasthan desperately need. He hit Rashid Khan for consecutive fours. He is a man who can turn it around for his team, he showed that last season with the Rising Pune Supergiant.
Williamson again and this time it is dangerman Stokes. Stokes looking to hit this one over long-on, doesn't get enough on it, Williamson spills it initially but he somehow gets the ball back in his hands. That is a biggie!
Rashid looks a little surprised himself that he took that catch. Rahane picks him out in the deep. Rashid speeding in from the square leg puts in the dive and takes the catch. Rajasthan are not in a great place at the moment.
Rahane and Samson are keeping things steady. No flashy shots attempted and the priority clearly is conserving wickets at this point. Stanlake and Shakib are alternating at the moment.
Sanju Samson in the middle with his captain now, he struggled in his first over but managed to milk Bhuvneshwar for a few runs in the third over. Now Shakib Al Hasan comes into the attack
Captain doin' the talkin'. Williamson picks it up from mid off and throws it on the stumps. Short is caught miles short of the crease. SRH have got their first wicket and that is due to the brilliance of Kane Williamson.
A small huddle with Williamson doing all the talking with that typically calm expression on his face. Ajinkya Rahane and D'Arcy Short open the innings for RR. The Rajiv Gandhi Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad is bouncing, the atmosphere is set for another IPL humdinger.
Ajinkya Rahane reckons he also would have bowled first had he won the toss. But he is confident that his batters can put up a good total. Heinrich Klaasen, who was brought on as Smith's replacement is not in the playing XI. It means we can expect Jos Buttler behind the stumps. A few laughs as Kane Williamson succesfully remembers the names of his overseas players.
So these are the overseas players:
SRH: Rashid Khan, Billy Stanlake, Kane Williamson, Shakib Al HasanRR: Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, D'Arcy Short, Ben Laughlin
Hello and welcome to our coverage of Match 4 of the 11th edition of the Indian Premier League. Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royakls are the two teams that bore the brunt of the fall out of the ball tampering scandal that unfolded in South Africa last month. Steve Smith and David Warner, captains of RR and SRH respectively and arguably their best batsmen are not playing this season. But that doesn't mean that they are two weakened sides. Kane Williamson has proven his capability as captain of New Zealand in all three formats and is considered one of the few batsmen in the world who can match Steve Smith. Ajinkay Rahane is also a well-respected figure and has the ability to adapt to any conditions around the world, let alone in India. It will be interesting how these two sides fair with the new faces leading them. Let's get right down to it.