Ishan Kishan’s century leads Hyderabad past Rajasthan in season-opening encounter

HYDERABAD, India (AP) — Ishan Kishan scored 106 not out off 47 balls as Sunrisers Hyderabad beat Rajasthan Royals by 44 runs in their season-opening encounter in the 2025 Indian Premier League on Sunday.

Kishan smacked 11 fours and six sixes in his maiden IPL hundred on debut for his new franchise, which notched up its second-highest total in tournament history.

Travis Head scored 67 off 31 balls as the Sunrisers picked up where they left off in 2024 to reach a mammoth 286-6 in 20 overs.

Hyderabad’s previous highest score was 287-3 — the highest IPL total — against Royal Challengers Bengaluru last season.

Royals fall short despite reaching 242-4

Rajasthan Royals fought well to post 242-4 (20 overs) in reply. Dhruv Jurel led with 70 off 35 balls, while Sanju Samson scored 66 off 37 balls.

Put into bat, Hyderabad ran away at the start with Head and Abhishek Sharma’s (22) explosive opening pairing putting on 45 off 19 balls.

Kishan found another gear as he reached 50 off 25 balls. Hyderabad, which bought him at the season’s auction earlier, found immediate returns as the young batter smacked his way to an attacking hundred on debut for his new franchise.

He put on 85 off 39 balls with Head, who also hit nine fours and three sixes. The latter fell just prior to the half-way mark.

Kishan – and Hyderabad – did not let up the scoring rate. He found able company in Nitish Reddy who hit 30 off 15 balls and Heinrich Klaasen, who added 34 off 14 balls.

Kishan's next 50 came off 22 balls, as he raced to his century, helping Hyderabad to a statement total in its first outing.

Rough day for Rajasthan's English pacer Jofra Archer

England pacer Jofra Archer finished with 0-76 from four overs – the most expensive spell in IPL history.

Rajasthan, led by vice-captain Riyan Parag, faltered early in its chase. Yashasvi Jaiswal was out caught for one, while Parag was out for four — both in the second over. It became 50-3 as Nitish Rana was dismissed for 11.

Samson, coming in as an impact substitute, did start off the season in style. He scored 50 off 26 balls, and put on 111 off 60 balls with Jurel as Rajasthan fought back on a good batting surface.

Jurel reached 50 off 28 balls at the other end, hitting six sixes and five fours as the chase revolved around him. Adam Zampa dismissed him in the 15th over, while Samson was out caught in the previous over.

It was too tall an ask for Rajasthan thereafter to chase down the mammoth target successfully despite fruitful cameos from Shimron Hetmyer (42 off 23 balls) and Shubham Dubey (34 not out off 11 balls).

In Sunday’s evening game, Chennai Super Kings hosts Mumbai Indians in a high-profile clash.

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AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

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