Sunrisers Hyderabad snapped Rajasthan Royals’ perfect start in IPL 2026, with an electric brand of new-ball bowling from debutants Praful Hinge and Saqib Hussain. After piling up 216/6, SRH turned the chase into a collapse, cutting the visitors down to 9 for 5 by the close of the third over. Although Donovan Ferreira and Ravindra Jadeja fought with a 118-run partnership, Royals eventually fell 57 runs short.
Quick facts
- Result: Sunrisers Hyderabad beat Rajasthan Royals by 57 runs
- SRH total: 216/6 in 20 overs
- RR chase: 159 all out in 19 overs
- Key SRH batting: Ishan Kishan 91 (44), Heinrich Klaasen 40 (26)
- Key SRH bowling: Praful Hinge 4/34, Saqib Hussain 4/24
- Key RR batting: Donovan Ferreira 69 (44), Ravindra Jadeja 45 (32)
In the chase, Royals never truly settled after the early strikes. Ferreira and Jadeja did keep the run-scoring moving, but the required rate was always climbing, and SRH’s powerplay advantage proved decisive. The match ended with Rajasthan short of the target, posting 159 in 19 overs.
Match in phases
SRH set the platform with a total of 216/6. Kishan struck 91 off 44 balls, while Klaasen contributed 40 from 26 as the innings built momentum. For Royals, Jofra Archer finished with figures of 2-37, and Riyan Parag managed 1-5.
Rajasthan, in reply, were restricted to 159 in 19 overs. Ferreira made 69 off 44 and Jadeja struck 45 off 32, but their effort could not bridge the gap. Saqib Hussain took 4-24 and Praful Hinge returned 4-34, swinging the contest early.
Who won SRH the match?
Praful Hinge, in his debut, was the standout. He tore through the top order by taking three wickets in the first over, becoming the first player in IPL history to achieve that on debut. By the end of the third over, all five of Royals’ top batters had been dismissed, with the debutant duo splitting the early damage—Hinge claiming four of those wickets.
Seventh duck for Abhishek Sharma in 2026
Rajasthan’s early pressure also had a personal edge for Abhishek Sharma. For the second straight game, Jofra Archer struck off the first ball when Abhishek tried to free his arms and clear the infield, only to be caught on the boundary by Ravi Bishnoi. It marked the seventh time Abhishek had been dismissed for a duck in T20 cricket during the year.
Archer and Nandre Burger continued to test Travis Head and Ishan Kishan with extra bounce, keeping the early phase under control. Kishan then accelerated from the fifth over once the pair’s spell settled down, cutting loose to take apart Sandeep Sharma and Tushar Deshpande and helping SRH reach 51/2 in the powerplay.
Captain Kishan keeps the fight on
Even when it seemed the slow start might linger, Kishan maintained the momentum. After Riyan Parag struck to remove Head, the captain refused to let Royals gain traction. Kishan kept SRH’s pressure steady, including 21 runs off Tushar Deshpande in the 11th over.
Two overs later, he launched Jofra Archer for four boundaries. Alongside Heinrich Klaasen, Kishan built an 88-run partnership off just 39 deliveries, but he was eventually dismissed nine runs short of a century.
Reddy, Arora bring muscle to the finish
As the innings moved toward the end, Tushar Deshpande and Sandeep Sharma returned to remove Kishan and Klaasen in quick succession. The Royals bowlers managed to slow the scoring rate briefly, but a late surge from Nitish Reddy and Salil Arora lifted SRH back into a commanding position.
Reddy struck 28 off 13 balls and Arora finished unbeaten on 24 off 13. Their finishing burst, aided by a steady stream of wides, carried SRH to 216/6. Both RR pacers who bowled four overs each conceded over 50 runs in total.
Hinge kills the chase
Rajasthan’s chase never got going after the debutant impact. In his first IPL appearance, Praful Hinge removed Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel, and Lhuan Dre-Pretorious inside the first over, becoming the first bowler to claim as many wickets as he did in his very first IPL over.
The collapse continued immediately. Sakib Hussain, the other debutant, joined in the very next over to dismiss Yashasvi Jaiswal, and by the fifth over even captain Riyan Parag was gone—edging a delivery to wide slip.
With Royals reduced to 9 for 5 within three overs, the contest was essentially decided during the powerplay.
Ferreira-Jadeja keep hopes up
On a track that offered a fair chance to bat, Ferreira and Jadeja steadied the innings and ensured boundaries still landed at a useful pace. Even as the required rate rose, the pair prevented the chase from slipping completely out of reach while they were in the middle.
The turning point leaned toward SRH from the 11th over onward. Ferreira struck Shivang Kumar for a six and then followed it with a boundary, helping to keep the momentum alive. However, with 90 needed off 31 balls, Sakib Hussain’s slower ball accounted for Ferreira, ending the biggest threat.
Jadeja was then caught behind in the next over, a call that came after SRH used a successful review. After that, the outcome was only a matter of time: Jofra Archer mistimed a scoop through third and was caught, and while Tushar Deshpande struck a few late blows, the chase was already beyond Royals’ control.
What next for the teams?
Royals suffered their first defeat of the season and will now head to Kolkata, with a break before meeting Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens on April 19. Sunrisers Hyderabad, meanwhile, will remain at home for their next assignment against the visiting Chennai Super Kings.
