Sunrisers Hyderabad vs. Rajasthan Royals: Video Highlights, Scorecard, Report

Rajasthan Royals impressed with the ball in a solid four-wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad in their Indian Premier League opener.

Rajasthan elected to field first and restricted their opponents to just 133-6 in their 20 overs.

They made an unsteady start in reply, but Ajinkya Rahane's half-century got them over the line with four balls to spare.

With a much-vaunted batting line-up, and some bowling stars, big things are expected of the Sunrisers this season, but they were becalmed by the disciplined Royals bowling.

TOTAL	(6 wickets; 20 overs)	133				133
BATSMEN		RUNS	BALLS	SR	4S	6S
Aaron Finch	c Kane Richardson b Dhawal Kulkarni	2	5	40.00	0	0
Shikhar Dhawan	c Kane Richardson b Rajat Bhatia	38	34	111.76	3	1
David Warner	c Kane Richardson b Rajat Bhatia	32	35	91.42	1	0
Lokesh Rahul	c Ajinkya Rahane b Dhawal Kulkarni	20	18	111.11	1	1
Darren Sammy	c Sanju Samson b Kane Richardson	6	11	54.54	0	0
Venugopal Rao	NOT OUT	16	12	133.33	1	0
Karan Sharma	c Brad Hodge b Kane Richardson	4	5	80.00	0	0
Dale Steyn	NOT OUT	0	0	0.00	0	0
EXTRAS	(w 9, b 1, lb 5)	15
BOWLER	O	R	W	ECON	DOTS
Dhawal Kulkarni	4	23	2	5.75	11
Kane Richardson	4	25	2	6.25	8
James Faulkner	3	27	0	9.00	2
Pravin Tambe	4	23	0	5.75	8
Rajat Bhatia	4	22	2	5.50	7
Stuart Binny	1	7	0	7.00	2

Aaron Finch fell cheaply, while Shikhar Dhawan (38 from 34 balls) and David Warner (32 from 35) lingered, but could not get scoring.

For a pitch which had just hosted a 411-run encounter between the Chennai Super Kings and Kings XI Punjab, it was a curious change of pace.

Rajat Bhatia, Kane Richardson and Dhawal Kulkarni all picked up two wickets at around a run a ball, as the expected Sunrisers acceleration failed to materialise.

In reply, however, the Royals struggled initially. Abhishek Nayar and Sanju Samson both fell for single-figure scores as Dale Steyn and Bhuvneshwar Kumar impressed.

EXTRAS	(w 2, lb 3)	5
BATSMEN		RUNS	BALLS	SR	4S	6S
Abhishek Nayar	lbw Dale Steyn	4	3	133.33	1	0
Ajinkya Rahane	c Aaron Finch b Amit Mishra	59	53	111.32	6	0
Sanju Samson	c Shikhar Dhawan b Bhuvneshwar Kumar	3	9	33.33	0	0
Shane Watson	c Lokesh Rahul b Ishant Sharma	3	7	42.85	0	0
Stuart Binny	NOT OUT	48	32	150.00	4	1
Brad Hodge	c Darren Sammy b Amit Mishra	1	8	12.50	0	0
Rajat Bhatia	c Aaron Finch b Dale Steyn	4	3	133.33	1	0
James Faulkner	NOT OUT	8	2	400.00	2	0
TOTAL	(6 wickets; 19.3 overs)	135
BOWLER	O	R	W	ECON	DOTS
Dale Steyn	4	29	2	7.25	11
Bhuvneshwar Kumar	3.3	21	1	6.00	9
Ishant Sharma	4	29	1	7.25	9
Darren Sammy	2	19	0	9.50	3
Amit Mishra	4	26	2	6.50	8
Karan Sharma	2	8	0	4.00	5

And when Ishant Sharma accounted for Rajasthan captain Shane Watson—giving him a big send-off as he departed—the game was wide open at 31-3.

But Rahane was joined by Stuart Binny and they drew the sting out of the attack, milking the bowling with patience and composure.

Rahane fell for a 53-ball 59, holing out as he looked to wrap up the match, but at the point he left the equation was 26 from 24 balls, and things looked secure.

However, a middle order wobble made for a nervy finale.

"

KXIP chased 206 easily this afternoon. On the same pitch, RR need 8 runs off the last over to chase 134. http://t.co/DfLvYHfymN

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) April 18, 2014"

That was until James Faulkner stepped up. Both balls of Kumar's final over went for fours, and the match was over.