Hyderabad, Mar 23: Ishan Kishan's electrifying century proved to be the difference as Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) defeated Rajasthan Royals (RR) by 44 runs in the second match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here on Sunday.

It was a completely entertaining run-fest which saw 528 runs being scored in 40 overs of the match as bowlers endured a tough day in Hyderabad. Earlier, Kishan slammed his maiden IPL ton on his SRH debut to steer the side to 286/6, the second-highest total in IPL history.

Chasing the gigantic target of 287, Rajasthan suffered a chaotic start as they lost opener Yashasvi Jaiswal (1), captain Riyan Parag (4), and Nitish Rana (11) in the first five overs. However, Impact Substitute Sanju Samson and Dhruv Jurel provided the much-needed juice to Rajasthan's innings. The duo kept the run-rate ticking nearly around the required run rate and stitched a 111-run partnership for the fourth wicket.

Meanwhile, Samson and Jurel completed their half-centuries off 26 and 28 balls respectively. As things were looking in control for Rajasthan, pacer Harshal Patel turned the tide in Hyderabad's favour with the dismissal of Samson (66) in the 14th over. In the next over, spinner Adam Zampa removed Jurel for 70, studded with six sixes and five fours, to give a double blow to RR. In the end, Shimron Hetmyer and Shubham Dubey fired on all cylinders but could not take the side over the line.

Hetmyer played a quickfire knock of 42 off 23 balls while Dubey scored 11-ball 34 not out at an electric strike rate of 309.09 with the help of four sixes and a four. In the end, Rajasthan were only able to reach 242/6 in 20 overs with Simranjeet Singh and Harshal Patel bagging two scalps each.

Earlier, banking on blazing knocks by Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma, Kishan was on cruise control mode since the start of his innings and gave a thumping reply to his critics with a maiden IPL ton.

After being invited to bat first, the SRH openers started from where they left last season as Abhishek commenced an assault on the RR attack in the power-play. The Indian opener got off the mark with consecutive fours against Fazalhaq Farooqi in the first over of the match.

Head from the other end hammered four and a six against Maheesh Theekshana in the second over to give a blistering start to the side. Abhishek unleashed his full potential when he struck three successive fours before Head ended Farooqi's over with a six to accumulate 21 runs from it.

Meanwhile, Theekshana broke the opening partnership and dismissed Abhishek for 11-ball 24 on the first ball of the fourth over. Ishan Kishan joined Head in the middle and carried the momentum as he smashed consecutive fours off Theekshana in the same over.

In the fifth over, Head gave an unforgettable welcome to Jofra Archer as the Australian amassed four fours and a six off six deliveries to gather 23 off it. With 16 from the sixth over, SRH accumulated 94 in the power-play to lay a solid foundation for the gigantic total.

Despite the end-of-field restrictions, Head completed his first half-century of the season in 21 balls and stitched an 85-run quickfire partnership off 39 balls for the second wicket. He was dismissed by pacer Tushar Deshpande in the 10th over. Head scored 31-ball 67 laced with nine fours and three sixes.

Nitish Kumar Reddy came in at No. 4 and took over from where his predecessor left and struck two boundaries off Archer in the 11th over.

On the other hand, Kishan slammed back-to-back sixes off Archer to complete his half-century in 25 balls on his SRH debut. He hit another six before smashing Farooqi for a six behind square. Reddy too joined the party and dispatched the short ball to deep square before Kishan hit four on the final ball of the over.

Nitish's (15-ball 30) stay was cut short by Theekshana in the 15th over as SRH crossed the 200-run mark. He was involved in a 29-ball 72-run partnership with Kishan. It was also the joint-fastest team 200 in the history of the IPL, equalling Royal Challengers Bengaluru's feat against Punjab Kings in 2016.

Heinrich Klaasen joined Kishan as the scoring rate didn't come down for the franchise in the final phase of the innings with the help of regular boundaries. The duo added 56 runs in just 25 balls as Klaasen departed after contributing 14-ball 34 with the help of five fours and a six. Meanwhile, Kishan completed his century off 45 balls to become the first player in the season to reach the milestone. He remained unbeaten on 106 off 47 balls, his knock studded with 11 fours and six sixes.

For Rajasthan, Tushar Deshpande bagged three wickets while Theekshana returned with the figures of 2-52 in his four overs.

Brief scores:

Sunrisers Hyderabad 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.

--IANS

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