A high-scoring double-header day delivered close to 1,000 runs across two T20 contests, with ordinary bowling spells, careless moments in the field, and plenty of explosive hitting. In Delhi’s echo, the same energy carried into Jaipur, where Rajasthan Royals fell short as Sunrisers Hyderabad chased down 229 with five wickets in hand. SRH completed the double over RR and, in doing so, extended a dominant run against them by winning a sixth straight meeting.
Brief scores: RR set the target, SRH chased it down
Rajasthan Royals posted 228/6 in 20 overs before Sunrisers Hyderabad reached 229/5 in 18.3 overs to secure a five-wicket victory.
- Rajasthan Royals: 228/6 (20 overs) — Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 103 off 37, Dhruv Jurel 51 off 35, Donovan Ferreira 33 off 16; Eshan Malinga 2/38
- Sunrisers Hyderabad: 229/5 (18.3 overs) — Ishan Kishan 74 off 31, Abhishek Sharma 57 off 29, Nitish Kumar Reddy 36 off 18; Jofra Archer 2/34
RR’s innings: a powerhouse century, but the chase was always a problem
Rajasthan’s script began with brilliance from Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, yet the overall day belonged to SRH once the ball came back. The Royals were particularly poor with the ball—outside of Jofra Archer—and a string of dropped chances and misfields swung momentum early and repeatedly. Even Ravindra Jadeja, not typically the man for such errors, shelled a sitter at backward point.
Powerplay control was also an issue for RR, with false shots and inconsistent execution leading the early phase to look untidy. Still, SRH kept swinging and the score kept rising. Abhishek appeared to be living dangerously at times, while Kishan took charge in a more direct manner, smashing the ball with relentless intent through the middle overs.
The innings shifted sharply against RR in the sixth over. Brijesh Sharma lost his line completely, spraying deliveries well outside leg stump—only for Kishan to take advantage immediately by striking the ball away from his presence.
Rajasthan’s powerplay tally of 89 helped bring the asking rate under 10, and from there SRH never truly looked like they might lose the plot.
“Wunderkid” special: Sooryavanshi’s brutal burst and the late injury scare
There was plenty of curiosity about how Vaibhav Sooryavanshi would respond to a bowler who had dismissed him off the first ball earlier in the season. The answer arrived in the most emphatic way possible—four sixes in the opening over, at least by his own retelling.
Praful Hinge returned to the SRH XI, but he was met with a reality check from the same opposition that had reduced him to 1/3 on debut. Sooryavanshi attacked everything in sight, striking four sixes in the first over. He then dismissed the first delivery he faced from Pat Cummins by lofting it for six as well.
There were also moments that went Sooryavanshi’s way: a dropped catch and another near-miss earlier in the innings. He cashed in on those chances, lifting a 15-ball fifty for the third time this season. His hitting made life difficult from both angles—peppering the mid-wicket boundary and repeatedly finding the “V” region—while slower balls were treated with contempt rather than caution.
His acceleration continued as he struck 6, 4, 6 off Sakib Hussain to move to a 36-ball century. When he attempted to get overly creative with a reverse-scoop, it backfired, and he was dismissed leg before wicket.
There was, however, a later concern for RR: Sooryavanshi was helped off the field while clutching his calf. The franchise would be hoping it is nothing serious with the rest of the campaign still ahead.
Other RR contributions and SRH’s decisive pullback in the middle overs
Rajasthan still had meaningful contributions beyond Sooryavanshi. Dhruv Jurel worked steadily through the powerplay and beyond, reaching 27 off 25 at one stage. In the 11th over, he changed gears, smashing a 101-metre six off Eshan Malinga and following it up with another boundary. Jurel then surged to a 34-ball fifty with a beautifully timed drive down the ground before falling soon after.
Donovan Ferreira, promoted to bat at number 5, struck three fours and three sixes. He especially targeted the slower deliveries from Sakib Hussain. With Rajasthan on 184/3 in 15 overs, RR were aiming for a total close to the 250 mark.
But SRH tightened the screws and pulled the chase back toward their control through a defensive masterclass built around returning captain Pat Cummins. Cummins accounted for Riyan Parag with a sharp yorker and kept attacking the block hole, while also clocking speeds above 140 kph. Hussain could not maintain that same level, though Malinga did manage to generate some movement off his yorker to deliver a five-run 19th over. Praful Hinge, after bowling four dot balls in the 16th, finished the job with a 10-run over that included the wicket of Shimron Hetmyer.
SRH were close to removing Ravindra Jadeja as well, but Travis Head saved the moment by grounding a catch off the final delivery of the innings.
Jofra Archer’s Powerplay: seam, pace, and near misses
Jofra Archer’s first two overs carried the kind of intensity that could easily be mistaken for a Test-style spell under lights. He swung the ball, produced sharp seam off the surface, and consistently challenged the speed gun.
Head was uncomfortable from the first ball, but Jurel dropped him while moving to his left. The southpaw kept feeling the heat, getting beaten repeatedly in the opening over before Archer forced another edge. This time, Jurel held on.
Kishan arrived next and was met with a brutal bouncer that struck the upper half of his bat and sailed over Jurel’s head for six. Archer continued to breathe fire in his second over and made the ball talk again, but luck stayed against him.
SRH chase: Abhishek and Kishan crush RR’s momentum
SRH made the chase look far easier than the target suggested. A second-wicket partnership of 132 between Abhishek and Ishan Kishan turned the match decisively, taking just 55 deliveries to build. Even when RR managed dismissals in the middle overs, the damage had already been done.
RR tried to change the plan by gambling with a bowling switch, handing Donovan Ferreira and even themselves a role earlier than expected in the over—before Ferreira dismissed Abhishek. Archer did return and removed Kishan, but he was undone by another dropped opportunity when Brijesh let Nitish Reddy escape at deep third man.
Both Nitish Kumar Reddy and Heinrich Klaasen contributed with cameos. A 20-run 17th over from Tushar Deshpande left Royals with only a theoretical chance of recovery. In the final flourish that summed up the day, Salil Arora sealed the contest by smashing a six.
What happens next for both franchises
- Rajasthan Royals: Travel to New Chandigarh to face table-toppers Punjab Kings on Tuesday (April 28).
- Sunrisers Hyderabad: Play the next day against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday (April 29).
