Ishan Kishan could hardly have wished for a livelier first outing as Sunrisers Hyderabad captain. The left-hander thumped 80 from 38 deliveries, setting the tone for a competitive 201 for 9 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the tournament opener.
Kishan’s intent was obvious from ball one. He lashed 13 boundaries—most of them either threaded through extra-cover or muscled square on the leg side—and reached fifty in 27 balls. Once Royal Challengers asked SRH to bat, the onus was on someone to dictate terms early, and Kishan obliged.
The rest of the powerplay, though, belonged to Jacob Duffy. The New Zealander, on IPL debut, removed Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma and Nitish Kumar Reddy in a measured first spell of 4-0-22-3. It evoked memories of Josh Hazlewood’s early-over discipline for RCB a couple of seasons ago. “I just tried to hit that hard length and keep things simple,” Duffy told the host broadcaster during the innings break.
Momentum swung again in the 16th over, when Phil Salt produced a one-handed grab at deep backward square to end Kishan’s charge. Salt, already having taken a low catch to see off Heinrich Klaasen, was everywhere in the ring and the deep; his work saved at least a dozen more runs.
Enter Aniket Verma. The uncapped batter hammered 43 from 17, clearing the ropes five times and finding the fence twice more. Those blows at the death pushed Sunrisers past 200, a figure that felt remote when they were 134 for 5.
Impact substitutes added another layer. Devdutt Padikkal, on for Duffy, held three outfield chances, while David Payne replaced Head and chipped in with an unbeaten six from five balls—useful, if unglamorous, in the final tally. Payne’s left-arm seam will now be critical on debut as Hyderabad look to defend.
With a true surface and short square boundaries in Bengaluru, 201 is competitive rather than conclusive. Much will hinge on how Sunrisers navigate the powerplay with the ball and whether RCB’s top order, led by Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli, can match Kishan’s early fireworks.
