Rajasthan Royals romp to victory as Sunrisers Hyderabad outclassed with bat and ball

Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson and Yashasvi Jaiswal all scored half-centuries for last season's runners-up before Trent Boult (2 for 21) and Yuzvendra Chahal (4 for 17) derailed Sunrisers' chase

Hyderabad: Rajasthan Royals 203-5, Sunrisers Hyderabad 131-8 - Rajasthan Royals won by 72 runs

Rajasthan Royals completed a resounding 72-run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad to start their 2023 IPL campaign with a bang. 

Their hosts were the busiest side at December's auction, overhauling their squad following two disappointing seasons, but it was the same old story as they were outclassed with bat and ball.

Chasing 204, Bhuvneshwar Kumar's side made the worst possible start, with Trent Boult striking twice in the opening over to remove Abhishek Sharma and Rahul Tripathi.

Harry Brook and Mayank Agarwal shared a laboured 34-run stand for the third-wicket before the former was bowled by Yuzvendra Chahal in the seventh over.

^{Jos Buttler was one of three players to score a half-century for the Royals}

His exit triggered a batting collapse, with Washington Sundar, Glenn Phillips and Agarwal falling in the space of four overs as Sunrisers sunk from 34 for 2 to 52 for 6, and while Adil Rashid, Abdul Samad, and Umran Malik – who smashed 19 runs from eight balls at No.10 – provided spirited resistance, there was nothing they could do to prevent a heavy defeat.

Chahal picked up 4 for 17 while Boult returned figures of 2 for 21, including conceding just eight runs across three powerplay overs.

Earlier, Rajasthan Royals' top-order had delivered a masterclass in T20 batting, with Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler and Sanju Samson all scoring half-centuries as last season's runners-up posted an imposing total of 203 for 5.

Buttler, in particular, picked up where he'd left off in 2022, blasting 54 runs off just 22 deliveries before departing off the penultimate delivery of the powerplay.

Shimron Hetmyer (22 not out off 16) chipped in with some runs from the middle order while T Natarajan was the pick of the bowlers for Sunrisers, taking 2 for 23 from three overs.