IPL 2026: Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Rajasthan Royals, Match 21 - Who Said What?

Sunrisers Hyderabad pulled off a stunning win over an in-form Rajasthan Royals side at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Monday, April 13.

The Orange Army lost the toss and were asked to bat first. Abhishek Sharma was dismissed off the very first delivery, with Jofra Archer giving the Royals a perfect start. Travis Head scratched and clawed his way to a run-a-ball 18. However, it was Ishan Kishan, who starred with the bat, scoring 91 off just 44 balls.

Heinrich Klaasen was involved in a match-winning 88-run partnership off 39 balls with his skipper. At the back end of the innings, Nitish Kumar Reddy (28 off 13) and Salil Arora (24* off 13) helped the hosts get past the 200-run mark. They eventually finished on 216/6 in their 20 overs.

In reply, the Rajasthan Royals lost five wickets in three overs for just nine runs. Two debutants - Sakib Hussain and Praful Hinge wreaked havoc. The latter bagged four out of the five wickets.

Donovan Ferreira and Ravindra Jadeja steadied the ship with a 118-run partnership off 72 balls. However, it only helped the Royals reduce the margin of defeat. Ferreira and Jadeja finished on 69 (44) and 45 (32), respectively. Tushar Deshpande chipped in with an 11-ball 25 down the order before the Royals were bowled out for 159 in 19 overs. Sakib Hussain and Praful Hinge finished with figures of 4/24 and 4/34, respectively. Sunrisers won the match by a comprehensive 57 runs.

Talking Points

Ishan Kishan plays captain's knock

Ishan Kishan showed once again why he is so highly-rated. Against a strong Rajasthan Royals bowling lineup, the southpaw didn't flinch. He took the attack to the bowlers after arriving at the crease after just one ball in the SRH innings. His sensational knock rattled the Rajasthan bowlers, who failed to come up with a strategy that could prevent Kishan from playing his naturally aggressive game.

Backing youngsters pays dividends for SRH

The Sunrisers Hyderabad management had started the tournament by backing the experienced players like Jaydev Unadkat and Harshal Patel. However, once they understood that the two veterans were failing to make an impact, they showed the guts to hand debuts to two fast bowlers in the same match. They were rewarded for their bravery as Praful Hinge and Sakib Hussain made light work of the famed Rajasthan batting lineup.

Donovan Ferreira and Ravindra Jadeja show commendable resilience

If not for Donovan Ferreira and Ravindra Jadeja, Rajasthan Royals would have lost the match by a much bigger margin. They mixed caution with aggression to stitch a 118-run partnership off 72 balls. The Royals eventually lost the match by 57 runs. However, the RR management will be happy to see that there lower-order batters, who didn't get too many opportunities in the previous matches, are in good form.

IPL 2026: SRH vs RR Today's Match Highlights

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IPL 2026: SRH vs RR Today's Match Highlights

Who said what

Riyan Parag, Rajasthan Royals captain:

"Not a lot of time to feel the emotions, to be honest. We lost back-to-back wickets, credit to the way they bowled. Probably a few miscalculations from us, but we will just take this as a blip and not think about it too much. (on the pitch) It was pretty good actually. I felt bowling second might have been better, probably because we lost wickets. It was a little sticky with the new ball with the shine on. After the shine was gone, it slowed down a bit. In hindsight, we could have bowled second, but there are a lot of things we could have done better. I haven’t seen them a lot in domestic cricket. I think I played Sakib once, Bihar versus Assam. But they bowled beautifully. Considering the pressure of the home crowd supporting them and chanting their names, the way they bowled in the first four or five overs was really impressive. I felt we started really well. There were probably a few small things we could have done differently. As for Jaddu bhai, it was a split-second decision. Ishan Kishan was batting really well, so I didn’t want to take that risk. I trusted Bishnoi with those overs. But I felt they were about 30 runs over par, considering how the wicket was playing. From a batting perspective, being five wickets down for nine runs and still getting to 160 says a lot about the depth in our batting. There are definitely positives to take, it could have been a lot worse, and we had a strong partnership in there as well. Like I said, it’s just a blip. We move on to Kolkata and look to do better."

Ishan Kishan, Sunrisers Hyderabad captain:

Definitely very happy with this win, adding on to 2 points in the ball, so I just felt happy because you know what we were looking for from the bowlers to just come here, play freely, execute their plans and I think we did that today and credit goes to all the bowlers hopefully. (on giving the debutants a go tonight) No, I think you also have to look how hungry your young bowlers are, how motivated they feel and you know how much they are hungry to play these games and I think they were working out throughout the season. They were working with fielding, our bowling coach Varun Aaron and they were just trying to give their best, talking to all the experienced players. So I think that was something we were looking for and we had to give them a chance when we are playing in our home ground. They especially did well in the practice matches as well, so I think this was the right move today. (were you 25 short with the bat?) I think looking at the batting unit and the form these guys are carrying because we have been scoring 200 plus runs in each and every game at least. So yeah, but still I think the way Abhishek plays, you know, sometimes he can get out, but our job is to, you know, take the game deep and play those triggering shots, but leave him freely because he's someone, if he gets going, you know, he just changes the game and gets you a total of 260 or 270. So we don't ask anything else from him. But still, yeah, he got out. I think he'll be motivated in the next game and he'll do. (not taking the gloves, reason?) I think, you know, as a captain, I felt, you know, there was some miscommunication going on. You know, sometimes your keeping time is not there. You're not able to communicate with your bowlers what the plans are. So it's better to be there, discuss with them what they're going to bowl so that we can feel, set the field accordingly. And that was the plan and I think it worked pretty well for us. (Is that the way going forward?) Hopefully, yes.

Praful Hinge, Player of the Match:

(imagined such a debut?) I did think about it. Last year, I had written somewhere that whenever I play my first match, I will definitely take four or five wickets. And I wanted to dominate as much as possible in the powerplay. I believe in it. I don’t know about others, but I do believe. (about his journey) I started playing cricket at the age of 13. I didn’t even know what leather-ball cricket was back then. When I was 13, I told my father that I wanted to join a club. He refused a couple of times, saying I was too young. But somehow, things started from there. After that, I just kept playing. Standing at this stage, it feels really good. I want to dedicate this award to my family. They’ve made a lot of sacrifices for me. I just want to say, their hard work and sacrifices mean everything. The best one was the first wicket of Sooryavanshi, because he was in form. I had already told a couple of people that I would get him out on the very first ball, either with a bouncer or in some way. I just wanted his wicket on the first ball. That was the plan. Also, our bowling coach Varun bhai helped me a lot. And I’m thankful to everyone who supported me. (injuries in the past) Everything is fine now. I want to thank MRF for taking really good care of me. When I was there, Naveen sir, the physio, looked after me very well. Since I’ve reached this stage today, I want to thank them too.