Twitter Reactions: All-round Rajasthan Royals rout listless Sunrisers Hyderabad in statement victory
It was a clinical display from last year's losing finalists as they hammered Sunrisers Hyderabad by 72 runs.
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Rajasthan Royals' IPL 2023 campaign opener turned out to be a one-sided affair as Sanju Samson's side hammered Sunrisers Hyderabad to get off the mark in style in the 16th edition of the tournament. Rajasthan's win was set up by their top three as all three of Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sanju Samson compiled half-centuries to help their side to 203 runs.
Sunrisers Hyderabad needed their batters to fire in order to chase the daunting total. But it wasn't to be as veteran Kiwi pacer Trent Boult dished out a double wicket maiden to wreck the chase even before it started. Harry Brook, who made his much-anticipated debut in the match for the Orange Army, was sent packing by Yuzvendra Chahal after a scratchy innings.
Apart from Mayank Agarwal and Abdul Samad none of the Sunrisers' batters managed to breach the 20-run mark in the second innings. They never managed to recover from their woeful display in the powerplay as Sanju Samson's side completed a comfortable victory in the end. While Boult was sensational with the new ball, Chahal's wizardry in the middle overs was too much to handle for the batters.
Rajasthan Royals register the highest score of the tournament after Jos Buttler's flying start
Earlier in the match, Bhuvneshwar Kumar's decision to put the visitors into bat first after winning the toss backfired massively as Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal got off to a flying start in the powerplay. Buttler continued his sensational form from last season, smashing a 20-ball half-century, his second fastest for the franchise as Rajasthan raced to 85 runs in the first six overs, their highest score in the powerplay.
Despite the departure of the explosive English batter, the visitors continued to pile the runs on the board, thanks to a brisk half-century from Jaiswal. Rajasthan skipper Sanju Samson joined the party as well, and his 55 off 32 deliveries kept the runs flowing despite a couple of quick wickets.
The Sunrisers pacers did pull things a bit at the fag end of the innings, but Shimron Hetmyer's cameo at the end helped Rajasthan Royals breach the 200-run mark, the first in this year's competition.
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