IPL 2018, Match 4 SRH vs RR: 5 Talking Points
The match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Monday completed the first round of fixtures for all the eight teams in IPL 2018 and surprisingly, it turned out to be a very one-sided contest.
The match saw two sides led by players who were thrust into the role following the ouster of David Warner and Steven Smith following the Sandpaper Gate controversy and it was SRH's Kane Williamson who came out on top in this contest against RR's Ajinkya Rahane.
Right from the run-out of D'Arcy Short in the very first over of the Rajasthan innings, the hosts were in full control of the match, executing a well-thought-out plan to perfection and thereby getting their tournament off to a winning start.
Here are the 5 major talking points from today's match.
#5 Shikhar Dhawan rides his luck to yet another IPL fifty
Shikhar Dhawan has been in terrific form for India over the last one year or so and with David Warner not present in this edition of the IPL, SRH will be hoping that Dhawan can step up his game one notch further to get their team off to a good start.
He did manage to do just that today but had plenty of luck on his side as Ajinkya Rahane dropped a sitter at slips when Dhawan was yet to get off the mark.
He also had a lucky escape when he was batting on 36 as he top-edged a wrong one from Shreyas Gopal but the ball landed in no man's land.
Dhawan was flawless from that point on as he rode his way to yet another IPL half-century - the 29th of his career - and he saw his side to victory alongside his skipper with an unbeaten 121-run partnership for the second wicket.