After winning their first four games easily, RR were given a reality check in Hyderabad. They slumped to their first loss this season and a timely wake-up call for the Men in Pink as SRH apart from winning the toss outplayed their opponents in all facets of the game. SRH managed to notch up an important win to keep their campaign alive. There were areas that RR lagged behind in this game and we will try and list them out for you in this article.
Inability to stop Ishan Kishan put RR on the back foot
RR made a perfect start after winning the toss and deciding to bowl first. They got rid of Abhishek Sharma first ball while Travis Head played a really scratchy innings to say the least. But there was one man who they couldn’t find a solution to and that was keeper batter and captain Ishan Kishan. Ishan blazed away and dazzled under the Hyderabad lights on a pitch that was not a belter but a sporting pitch nonetheless.
Ishan played some exquisite shots and took advantage of loose bowling dished out by RR bowlers. The ball on the pads was easily flicked away for the maximum and there was good wrist work done by Ishan. Even the good balls were hit as RR had no answer to the brilliance of Ishan. He was ably supported by Heinrich Klaasen as both complimented each other really well. But the story was about Ishan and the way he played, he deserved a ton. But he played for the team and perished. Plus, the light failure in the 13th over might have caused a lapse in concentration.
RR had no plans and lacked incisiveness against Ishan and in future games against set batters needs to find ways of dismissing people and go to plan B or C if A is not working. Last night it seemed they lacked having those plans. It’s just their first loss and they will figure it out one hopes. But RR are on the road now and adjusting to different venues will be a challenge for the Men in Pink.
Losing 5 wickets for 9 runs inside 3 overs in the chase sealed the fate of the match
RR would still have fancied chasing 217 considering their batting form and what we saw of SRH with the ball in previous games. SRH’s weakness is bowling and we thought that 216 may not be enough. RR were confident, but they had little or no idea what would hit them next. It was the turn of two debutants Praful Hinge and Sakib Hussain as Impact Player wreaked havoc and blew away the top order in a flash with only half the overs done in the powerplay.
Hinge started things off by dismissing teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi the Impact Player for a golden duck. Thereafter, in the same over he dismissed Dhruv Jurel and Lhuan dre-Pretorius both of them for silver ducks. Sakib Hussain got into the act as he dismissed Yashasvi Jaiswal before captain Parag fell to Hinge again who got 4 wickets in no time as RR the table toppers were reduced to 9/5 in 3 overs. The game was as good as sealed here in a 217 chase and despite some fight shown, it was a bridge too far in the end.
Sakib Hussain managed to get more wickets in the middle phase after the long partnership between Jadeja and Ferreira while Malinga got two wickets as well. But RR found these two debutants too hot to handle and lost their wickets. There were some loose shots played as well while some balls were brilliant. RR cannot afford to have these collapses like these as it may affect their confidence. It was one of those days for them. They will look to forget this performance, treat this as a wake-up call and come back stronger in upcoming games.
Sandeep Sharma & Tushar Deshpande both leaking runs adds to RR’s woes
RR had a tough initiation with the ball in hand last evening in Hyderabad. While the two overseas stars, Jofra Archer and Nandre Burger bowled well and Riyan Parag slipped in a good over, it was the performances of two senior bowlers that let RR down badly in this contest. One bowler having an off-day can be managed, but two having that becomes a nightmare for the captain and Riyan Parag had nowhere to go in the end we might say. Even Ravi Bishnoi was wicketless and went for runs yesterday.
But the main disappointments were Sandeep Sharma and Tushar Deshpande. Both went for plenty. Yes, they managed to take one wicket apiece but did not have the best of nights whatsoever. Both these aforementioned bowlers gave one 20+ over with Sandeep going for 21 in an over and Tushar for 24 in an over. This really hurt their figures and allowed free runs to the Orange Army. To put things into perspective, the two bowlers bowled 8 overs and gave away 107 runs to pick up 2 wickets. This really hurt RR badly.
Both bowlers will look for an improved performance and bounce back in the upcoming games, as they are key bowlers for the Royals. Any bowler can have an off-day, but in their case both had it simultaneously which hurt them badly. RR fans and stakeholders would be hoping they roar back into form in the upcoming game.
What Lies Ahead
So, SRH with this win climbs to 4th in the points table and boosts their Net Run Rate as well. RR will stay top but gets a good wake-up call with a long tournament ahead. RR next faces KKR. Next up in IPL 2026 is going to be CSK vs KKR live from Chennai later tonight. It’s 9th vs 10th in a battle to avoid wooden spoon. KKR searching for their first win while CSK will want to take confidence from the DC win and make it 2 wins in a row.
Let’s see how this game will shape up as it’s the 5-time champions against 3-time champions battling for survival. A must-win game for both teams.
Also Read: SRH vs RR: Praful Hinge’s Dream 4-Wicket Haul Dismantles RR