Sunrisers Hyderabad started their season with an impressive 9-wicket win over returning Rajasthan Royals.
Kane Williamson’s decision to bowl first was fully justified by his bowlers as they restricted the Royals to a modest 125 for 9. The Royals kept on losing wickets at regular intervals which pretty much derailed their innings. Sanju Samson was their only notable contributor with 49.
In reply, the Sunrisers reached the target inside 16 overs. Shikhar Dhawan starred with the bat, scoring 77 not out and was ably supported by Kane Williamson (36*). The duo shared an unbeaten partnership of 136 runs.
With the game done and dusted, here is a look at some interesting numbers from the match:
1. The Royals could not hit a single six during the entire innings. They hit 12 fours but no sixes in the allotted 20 overs. It was only in the third over of the Sunrisers Hyderabad’s that the first six of the game came.
2. Shikhar Dhawan won only his third Man of the Match in the Indian Premier League for the Sunrisers. His previous Man of the Match awards came in 2013 and 2017 for his fifties against Mumbai Indians.
3. The nine-wicket win is Sunrisers’ 3rd win in the IPL by nine and more wickets. They defeated Gujarat Lions by ten wickets in 2016 and the same opposition by nine wickets in 2017.
4. The 121-run stand between Shikhar Dhawan and Kane Williamson is the 14th 100-run partnership in the league for the Hyderabad-based franchise for any wicket. However, it was only the second instance that David Warner was not involved in it.
5. Yusuf Pathan became the seventh player to feature in 150 games in the IPL.
6. Ajinkya Rahane became the fifth player to captain Rajasthan Royals in the IPL while Kane Williamson became the sixth to lead Sunrisers in the league.
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