Sanju's effort goes in vain as Rajasthan Royals lose to Sunrisers Hyderabad by 44 runs
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Hyderabad: Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Rajasthan Royals by 44 runs in a high-scoring match at the Indian Premier League 2025 here on Sunday. Hyderabad scored 286/6 after batting first, but Rajasthan fought valiantly, scoring 242/6 in their chase.
Ishan Kishan's maiden IPL century fuelled Hyderabad to the second-highest total in the tournament's history. SRH now holds the record for the top three highest totals, with their 287-run total against Royal Challengers Bangalore made last year sitting at the top spot.
Rajasthan batters gave away their wickets cheaply in the first few overs of their innings while chasing a big score. The Royals lost three wickets in four overs, with Yashasvi Jaiswal, skipper Riyan Parag, and Nitish Rana all back in the dugout as Rajasthan reached 50 runs.
Sanju Samson, who came in as an impact substitution, fought from one end and was later joined by wicket-keeper batsman Dhruv Jurel in the fifth over. Together, they added 111 runs in the fourth wicket partnership.
At one stage, it seemed the Royals were cruising towards the highest run chase in the tournament's history, but Harshal Patel had other plans. He dismissed Sanju Samson in the 14th over after scoring 66 runs off just 37 balls. Jurel also followed after two balls, with Mohammed Shami claiming the wicket. He fired 70 runs off just 35 deliveries.
Shimron Hetmyer and Shubham Dubey hit some big shots, but it wasn't enough to propel Rajasthan in their chase of the massive total.
Earlier, after being called in to bat first, Hyderabad openers Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head took full advantage of the pitch, which largely favoured batsmen, smashing the ball all around the ground. They made 45 runs in just 3 overs for the opening partnership.
Though Sharma was dismissed for 24 runs by Maheesh Theekshana, Hyderabad was not in the mood to stop the assault on Rajasthan bowlers. Head was joined in by Ishan Kishan and together, they took the team past 100 runs in just 6.4 overs.
The duo added 85 runs for the second wicket before Head was dismissed by Tushar Deshpande in the ninth over. The Australian attempted to drive Deshpande through cover but ended up in the arms of Shimron Hetmyer. Kishan was then joined by Nitish Kumar Reddy, who made a rapid 30 off just 15 deliveries. Reddy ensured his team crossed the 200-run mark before handing his wicket to Theekshana.
South African player Klassen also ensured the run rate remained above 12 by with a quick-fire 34 off 14 deliveries. Hyderabad's score appeared to be heading past 290 runs at one stage, but Rajasthan managed to clinch Klassen's wicket in the 18th over, slowing down their innings.
Rajasthan took two wickets in the last over, which prevented Hyderabad from surpassing their record total of 287 runs made last year. Ishan Kishan made an unbeaten 106 runs.
None of the Rajasthan bowlers made an impact on the field except for Deshpande, who took three wickets, giving away 44 runs in his four overs.
Brief Scores: SRH 286/6 in 20 overs (Ishan Kishan 106 not out, Travis Head 67; Tushar Deshpande 3-44, Maheesh Theekshana 2-52) beat Rajasthan Royals 242/6 in 20 overs (Dhruv Jurel 70, Sanju Samson 66; Harshal Patel 2-34, Simarjeet Singh 2-46) by 44 runs.