Pune, March 29: Rajasthan Royals (RR) comprehensively defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by 61 runs as they became the first team to win by batting first in the 5th match of the IPL 2022 here on Tuesday. Batting first, RR plundered 210 which provided them with the cushion to defend it with aplomb. The top five batsmen of Rajasthan started with skipper Sanju Samson smacking 55 off 27 balls which was laced with 5 sixes. SRH bowlers did not strike the right chords and gave away far too many runs. RR then started remarkably well with the ball striking with the new ball and pegging back the run rate. At the halfway-mark of the chase, the game became predictable. The margin though was reduced as Aiden Markram (57 no off 41) fought a lone battle towards the end and Washington Sundar played an astounding cameo of 40 off 14 balls. RR bowlers, especially Prasidh Krishna (2/16) and Yuzvendra Chahal (3/22), were on dot and were rewarded with wickets. Trent Boult (2/23) and Ravichandran Ashwin also completed the rout by bowling frugal overs. Chasing a massive 211 runs target, SRH started off poorly. Krishna struck early as he dismissed Kane Williamson and Rahul Tripathi. Boult joined the party and he got the better of Nicholas Pooran and SRH were three down inside five overs. Yuzvendra Chahal then dismissed Abhishek Sharma (9) and Abdul Samad (4). Earlier, Samson’s half-century, besides Devdutt Padikkal, Shimron Hetmyer and Jos Buttler’s cameos, powered RR to 210 for 6. Samson brought up his scintillating 50 in just 25 balls, which was decorated with 5 sixes and 3 boundaries. With this, he holds the record of hitting the most sixes for the franchise. Notably, it was his third consecutive fifty in IPL’s opening game. He was dismissed for 55 by seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar after being caught by Abdul Samad. At the top, Devdutt Padikkal scored 41 and Jos Buttler 35, besides Shimron Hetmeyer blasted 32 runs off 13 balls in the death. overs.
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