IPL 2018, SRH vs RR: Shikhar Dhawan getting dropped on 0 is SK Turning Point of the Match
The Sunrisers Hyderabad started off their campaign in IPL 2018 with a convincing 9-wicket victory over the Rajasthan Royals on Monday (April 9). Both SRH and RR were had to change their previously appointed captains, David Warner and Steve Smith respectively, following Australia's ball-tampering scandal in Cape Town last month.
Kane Williamson and Ajinkya Rahane took charge instead, and it was the Kiwi skipper who clinched a win after the game. SRH won the game and chose to field first on the day.
Rahane and Co. started off well and were in a strong position at 48-1 after six overs, but lost their way thereafter. They could score just 77 runs off the remaining 14 overs and lost 8 wickets in that period, to put up a meek total of 125-9 after the first innings.
However, they had a real chance of putting pressure on the home side in the very first over of the chase. Shikhar Dhawan, who scored a thumping fifty in the game, edged a delivery from Dhawal Kulkarni right to Rahane, who was standing at first slip. However, the RR skipper, who is one of the safest fielders in the Indian Cricket Team, dropped the catch in haste.
It was an easy chance, more so with the fielding benchmark that the Mumbaikar has set for himself. Dhawan went on to punish the bowlers of the RR attack thereafter and smashed some thunderous boundaries throughout his innings.
In a game where you are defending a very low total, it is extremely important for the fielding side to latch onto every opportunity and convert half-chances into real-time dismissals. A miss as costly as this, that too from their skipper, put a severe dent in the already-diminished hope RR had and deflated the spirit of the side.
Dhawan did not look back after he got the lifeline and remained unbeaten for a mammoth score of 77 off 57 deliveries. It was his knock that broke the backbone of the chase and made it all too easy for the hosts to clinch victory in their maiden game of the tournament.
Rajasthan Royals have to answer a number of questions before they face Delhi Daredevils in Jaipur on Wednesday. Their batting did not click in the first innings and their bowlers did not look threatening at any point throughout the chase.
Sunrisers Hyderabad, on the other hand, have a perfect win under their belt right at the beginning of this season and can march onto their next game with confidence. They will face Rohit Sharma's Mumbai Indians at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Thursday.