Ishan Kishan Blitz Powers SRH to Thrilling Victory
Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad buzzed with anticipation as Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) faced off against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the second match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season. This clash, part of the tournament’s opening double-header Sunday, showcased SRH’s unrelenting batting prowess and set the tone for what promises to be another explosive campaign for the 2016 champions.
With a revamped squad featuring marquee additions like Ishan Kishan and a bolstered bowling unit led by captain Pat Cummins, SRH entered the contest as favorites, leveraging their home advantage and a history of dominance over RR in recent encounters. Meanwhile, RR, under the temporary leadership of 23-year-old Riyan Parag due to Sanju Samson’s ongoing recovery from a finger injury, aimed to upset the hosts with a blend of youthful energy and seasoned talent.
The match began with Parag winning the toss and opting to bowl first, a decision that would soon prove costly as SRH’s batting lineup unleashed a torrent of runs. Openers Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma set the stage ablaze, capitalizing on the powerplay to amass 94 runs in the first six overs—one of the highest powerplay totals in IPL history.
Head, in scintillating form, raced to a 21-ball fifty, peppering the boundary with his trademark aggression before departing for a well-made 67 off 31 balls. Abhishek complemented him with a quickfire 24 off 11, falling to Maheesh Theekshana’s guile, but not before the duo had laid a rock-solid foundation. The spotlight, however, belonged to Ishan Kishan, who marked his SRH debut with a breathtaking century. Smashing 106 not out off just 47 balls, including six sixes, Kishan seamlessly slotted into the No. 3 role, proving an upgrade over Rahul Tripathi from the previous season. His knock was a blend of calculated aggression and sheer power, keeping the RR bowlers on their toes throughout.
Nitish Kumar Reddy and Heinrich Klaasen further amplified SRH’s dominance, each contributing rapid thirties at strike rates exceeding 200. Reddy scored 30 off 15 before holing out, while Klaasen’s 34 off 14 included three consecutive boundaries off Jofra Archer, who endured a nightmare outing. Archer, returning to IPL action after missing 2024, finished with figures of 4-0-76-0, the most expensive spell in IPL history, as SRH piled on 286 for 6 in their 20 overs.
This total fell just one run short of their own IPL record of 287, set against Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2024, and marked the fourth time SRH had breached the 250-run barrier in T20 cricket—a feat unmatched by any other team. RR’s bowlers struggled to find answers, with only Tushar Deshpande (3/44) managing some respectability, while the likes of Archer and Fazalhaq Farooqi bled runs at an alarming rate.
Chasing a daunting 287, RR’s innings got off to a rocky start as Simarjeet Singh struck twice in the first over, dismissing Yashasvi Jaiswal for 1 and Riyan Parag for 4. Nitish Rana’s brief resistance ended at 11, leaving RR reeling at three down inside the powerplay.
Sanju Samson, playing as an Impact Player due to his inability to keep wicket, and Dhruv Jurel mounted a valiant counterattack. Samson, with a brisk 50-odd, and Jurel, who smashed a 28-ball fifty with three consecutive sixes off Simarjeet, stitched together a 111-run partnership for the fourth wicket. Their aggression kept RR in the hunt momentarily, but the escalating required rate proved too steep. Harshal Patel, SRH’s death-over specialist, turned the tide by dismissing Samson and later Shimron Hetmyer (42 off 23), finishing with an economical 2 for 34 in a high-scoring affair.
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Despite late fireworks from Hetmyer and Shubham Dubey, who hammered Adam Zampa for 22 runs in an over, RR finished at 242 for 6—44 runs short of the target. The chase, while spirited, underscored SRH’s bowling resilience, with Mohammed Shami and Pat Cummins complementing Patel and Simarjeet to close out the game. This victory marked SRH’s first win over RR since 2018 at Hyderabad and extended their head-to-head edge to 11-9 across 20 IPL meetings, having swept both encounters in 2024. For RR, the loss highlighted the challenges of adapting to Parag’s inexperienced captaincy and the absence of Samson’s full involvement, though their batting depth showed promise.
