SRH opted to bowl first after winning the toss. RR, the last year’s runner-up, made a strong start as their openers, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler, stitched together a solid partnership. Buttler, in particular, was in a destructive mood as he smashed 54 runs off just 22 deliveries, including 7 fours and 3 sixes. Jaiswal played an anchoring role, scoring 54 runs off 37 balls. Skipper Sanju Samson played a captain’s knock, scoring 55 runs off 32 balls with the help of 3 fours and 4 sixes. However, the rest of the batting line-up couldn’t contribute much, as the touring party ended up posting a formidable total of 203/5 in their 20 overs.
For SRH, T Natarajan and Fazalhaq Farooqi picked up two wickets each, while Umran Malik picked up one wicket.
Chasing a mammoth total, the Sunrisers got off to a terrible start as they lost their top-order cheaply. Abdul Samad scored 32 runs off 32 balls, while Umran made a quickfire 19 runs off just 8 balls, but the rest of the batting order failed to contribute significantly. Yuzvendra Chahal was the pick of the bowlers for the Royals, picking up 4 wickets for just 17 runs in his 4 overs. Trent Boult and Jason Holder picked up 2 and 1 wicket respectively, while Ravichandran Ashwin and KM Asif picked up a wicket each.
In the end, SRH could manage only 131/8 in their 20 overs, falling short by a massive margin of 72 runs.
Meanwhile, SRH owner and fangirl Kavya Maran once again hogged the limelight despite the franchise losing their opening game of the 2023 IPL season.
Kavya, who is popularly known as the ‘mystery girl’ on social media, was in the stands rooting for the Orange Army. But, it was a disappointment for her as SRH did not live up to the expectations and suffered a big defeat at the hands of RR.
Kavya was running high on emotions as, from biting her nails to patting her forehead, she did it all in three hours. Kavya’s disappointment broke the hearts of her fans, who waited long to get a glimpse of her during the match.
Here’s how Twitter reacted:
Sid Kavya Maran right now.#SRHvsRR #IPL23 #RRvSRH pic.twitter.com/QVwx5naLdi
— ?Che_ಕೃಷ್ಣ???(@ChekrishnaCk) April 2, 2023
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