In the fourth match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023, Rajasthan Royals (RR) delivered an impressive performance, led by their top-order batters and bowler Yuzvendra Chahal, to secure a resounding 72-run victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Sunday.
RR won the toss and chose to bat first, and their opening pair, Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal, made a strong start, scoring 85 runs off the first six overs. Buttler was the first to complete his half-century off just 20 balls, and Jaiswal followed suit, reaching his fourth IPL fifty in the 12th over. Sanju Samson also contributed with a quick-fire 55 off 32 balls, helping RR post a massive total of 203/5 on the board.
In response, SRH suffered an early batting collapse, losing their first two wickets for ducks to Trent Boult's brilliant bowling. Chahal then put another dent in SRH's batting, taking four wickets for just 17 runs. Abdul Samad was the only SRH batsman to put up a fight, scoring an unbeaten 32, as SRH managed to score just 131/8 in their 20 overs.
With this victory, RR secured their first win of the season, while SRH suffered their second defeat in a row. The match also began with a minute of silence to honor the legendary all-rounder Salim Durani, who passed away at the age of 88 after a prolonged battle with cancer.
Brief scores: Brief scores: Rajasthan Royals 203/5 in 20 overs (Yashaswi Jaiswal 54 off 37, Jos Buttler 54 off 22 and Sanju Samson 55 off 32; Fazalhaq Farooqi 2/41, T Natarajan 2/23) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad 131/8 in 20 overs (Abdul Samad 32 off 32, Mayank Agarwal 27 off 23; Yuzvendra Chahal 4/17, Trent Boult 2/21) by 72 runs