In one of the most dramatic turnarounds of IPL 2026, Sunrisers Hyderabad ended Rajasthan Royals’ unbeaten run with a comprehensive 57-run victory at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad, on April 13. This was SRH’s second win of the season and a statement win in every sense — captain Ishan Kishan led from the front with a blazing 91 off 44 balls, while two debutants, Praful Hinge and Sakib Hussain, tore through the RR batting lineup with four wickets apiece.
Nobody saw the match quite unfolding this way. Abhishek Sharma was dismissed for a first-ball golden duck, Travis Head struggled, and for a brief moment, SRH’s innings looked like it might collapse. But Ishan Kishan had other ideas. Partnering with Head initially and then forming a devastating 88-run stand with Heinrich Klaasen off just 39 balls, Kishan single-handedly resurrected the innings and drove SRH to a competitive 216/6.
The real story, however, was written with the ball. Debutant Praful Hinge dismissed three batters — Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel, and Lhuan-dre Pretorius — all for golden ducks in his very first IPL over. RR stumbled to 9/5 inside three overs and never recovered. Donovan Ferreira (69) and Ravindra Jadeja (45) added 118 in a brave rescue act, but it was not nearly enough. RR were bowled out for 159 in 19 overs.
SRH Innings: 216 / 6 (20 overs)
| Batter | Dismissal | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abhishek Sharma | c Kishan b Archer | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Travis Head | c Parag b Parag | 18 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Ishan Kishan ★ (c & wk) | c & b Sandeep Sharma | 91 | 44 | 8 | 6 | 206.82 |
| Heinrich Klaasen | c Archer b Deshpande | 40 | 26 | 1 | 3 | 153.85 |
| Nitish Kumar Reddy | c Hetmyer b Archer | 28 | 13 | 0 | 4 | 215.38 |
| Salil Arora (not out) | — | 24 | 13 | 2 | 2 | 184.62 |
| Aniket Verma | run out | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 120.00 |
| Harsh Dubey (not out) | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
Extras: 9 (lb 1, w 8) | Total: 216/6 in 20 overs | Run Rate: 10.80
FOW: 0-1 (Abhishek, 0.1), 55-2 (Head, 6.5), 143-3 (Kishan, 13.2), 162-4 (Klaasen, 15.5), 195-5 (Reddy, 18.3), 209-6 (Verma, 19.5)
RR Bowling
| Bowler | O | M | R | W | Econ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jofra Archer | 4 | 0 | 37 | 2 | 9.25 |
| Nandre Burger | 4 | 0 | 31 | 0 | 7.75 |
| Sandeep Sharma | 4 | 0 | 52 | 1 | 13.00 |
| Tushar Deshpande | 4 | 0 | 55 | 1 | 13.75 |
| Riyan Parag | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 5.00 |
| Ravi Bishnoi | 3 | 0 | 35 | 0 | 11.67 |
RR Innings: 159 / 10 (19 overs)
| Batter | Dismissal | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vaibhav Suryavanshi | c Kishan b Hinge | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Yashasvi Jaiswal | c Reddy b Sakib | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20.00 |
| Dhruv Jurel (wk) | b Hinge | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Lhuan-dre Pretorius | c Reddy b Hinge | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Riyan Parag (c) | c Kishan b Hinge | 4 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 66.67 |
| Ravindra Jadeja | c wk b Malinga | 45 | 32 | 5 | 0 | 140.63 |
| Donovan Ferreira | b Sakib | 69 | 44 | 8 | 3 | 156.82 |
| Jofra Archer | c Hinge b Sakib | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 40.00 |
| Tushar Deshpande | c Kishan b Malinga | 25 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 227.27 |
| Ravi Bishnoi | c Kishan b Sakib | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Nandre Burger (not out) | — | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 60.00 |
Extras: 10 (lb 1, w 9) | Total: 159/10 in 19 overs | Run Rate: 8.37
FOW: 1-1 (Suryavanshi, 0.2), 1-2 (Jurel, 0.4), 1-3 (Pretorius, 0.6), 2-4 (Jaiswal, 1.4), 9-5 (Parag, 2.6), 127-6 (Ferreira, 14.6), 129-7 (Jadeja, 15.3), 140-8 (Archer, 16.5), 140-9 (Bishnoi, 16.6), 159-10 (Deshpande, 18.6)
SRH Bowling
| Bowler | O | M | R | W | Econ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Praful Hinge ★ | 4 | 0 | 34 | 4 | 8.50 |
| Sakib Hussain | 4 | 0 | 24 | 4 | 6.00 |
| Eshan Malinga | 4 | 0 | 31 | 2 | 7.75 |
| Shivang Kumar | 3 | 0 | 28 | 0 | 9.33 |
| Harsh Dubey | 2 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 11.00 |
| Nitish Kumar Reddy | 2 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 9.50 |
Man of the Match
Praful Hinge’s IPL debut was the stuff of fantasy. Brought on to bowl the very first over of RR’s chase, he dismissed Vaibhav Suryavanshi (golden duck), Dhruv Jurel (golden duck), and Lhuan-dre Pretorius (golden duck) — three wickets in three balls at one point, reducing the tournament’s unbeaten leaders to rubble before most fans had settled into their seats. He returned to add Riyan Parag’s wicket in his second over and finished with 4/34 from four overs.
In his post-match interview, Hinge revealed he had told friends before the match that he would get Suryavanshi’s wicket with a bouncer. He delivered on that promise with a plan and a poise that belied his debut status.
Highlighted Players
Full Match Highlights
Toss: Rajasthan Royals won the toss and elected to bowl first — a decision that seemed fully justified in the opening over when Jofra Archer removed Abhishek Sharma for a golden duck off the very first ball. For a team that has been struggling without Pat Cummins, this was a dangerous start.
SRH Powerplay (0–6 overs): Despite the early setback, Ishan Kishan walked in at No. 3 and immediately shifted gears. Alongside Travis Head, he absorbed the early pressure before launching into the RR attack. SRH reached 51/1 at the end of six overs — a respectable powerplay total given the first-ball dismissal.
Middle Overs — Kishan Takes Control: Head fell for 18 in the seventh over. That could have been the moment RR seized control. Instead, Kishan produced one of the finest captain’s innings of this IPL season. He punished Tushar Deshpande for 21 runs in a single over and formed a brutal 88-run partnership with Klaasen off just 39 balls. Kishan was eventually caught for 91 — five runs short of what would have been a historic century — but by then the damage was done.
Death Overs: Nitish Kumar Reddy contributed a vital 28 off 13 balls while Salil Arora finished with an unbeaten 24 off 13. SRH posted 216/6 — a formidable total at any venue, but especially here where the pitch, despite expectations, played more two-paced than anticipated.
RR Chase — Collapse of the Season: Nothing could have prepared RR fans for what followed. Praful Hinge bowled the first over of the chase and produced arguably the most dramatic debut over in IPL history. Suryavanshi (golden duck), Jurel (golden duck), and Pretorius (golden duck) — three in three at one stage, and the RR dressing room was in shock. Sakib Hussain then dismissed Jaiswal for one. Parag fell for four. RR were 9/5 after three overs — the tournament’s only unbeaten team, utterly dismantled inside 18 balls.
Ferreira and Jadeja — The Rescue: From the ruins of 9/5, Donovan Ferreira and Ravindra Jadeja put together one of the most entertaining partnerships of IPL 2026. They added 118 runs for the sixth wicket, giving the stadium crowd a full match in miniature — crash, rebuild, counterattack. But 217 was always too many, and once Sakib broke the stand by dismissing Ferreira for 69, the end came quickly. RR were bowled out for 159 in 19 overs.
The Turning Point
Over 1 of RR’s chase will be talked about for seasons to come. Hinge to Suryavanshi — bouncer, top edge, caught. Hinge to Jurel — bowled, off stump disturbed. Hinge to Pretorius — caught at mid-off. Three golden ducks in a row. Three wickets in four balls. RR went from 1/0 to 1/3 in the space of minutes, and the entire RR batting unit — built around explosive, aggressive opening partnerships — had no answer to a debutant bowling with supreme confidence and a perfectly executed gameplan.
Captain’s Reactions
Kishan praised the team’s collective effort and specifically singled out the two debutants. He acknowledged that losing Abhishek Sharma on the first ball was a shock, but said he had to take personal responsibility to set the tone. He credited the bowling attack and called the performance one of SRH’s best team efforts of the season.
Parag was candid about the failure. He acknowledged that losing five wickets for nine runs in the first three overs made any comeback impossible, and praised both Ferreira and Jadeja for their fighting knock. He expressed confidence that RR would bounce back quickly, noting that one defeat does not change the team’s broader form and quality.
IPL 2026 Points Table — After Match 21
| # | Team | M | W | L | Pts | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | RR Rajasthan Royals | 5 | 4 | 1 | 8 | LOST |
| 2 | Punjab Kings | 4 | 3 | 1 | 6 | — |
| 3 | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | 4 | 3 | 1 | 6 | — |
| 4 | SRH Sunrisers Hyderabad | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | WON |
| 5 | Delhi Capitals | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | — |
| 6 | Gujarat Titans | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | — |
| 7 | Lucknow Super Giants | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | — |
| 8 | Mumbai Indians | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | — |
| 9 | Chennai Super Kings | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — |
| 10 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — |
Match Analysis
For SRH, this was the win they desperately needed — not just for the points, but for belief. They have been the most exciting batting team in IPL 2026 without the results to match, and the pressure of three losses in four games was beginning to build. Tonight, they showed that when their bowling clicks — even if through unexpected debut heroes — they are more than capable of beating the best team in the tournament.
For RR, this defeat is a timely reminder that no team in T20 cricket is invincible. The collapse of 9/5 against two debutants will sting, and questions will be asked about their top-order resilience against pace that moves early. The Ferreira-Jadeja partnership was a brilliant response from pride, but it masked a structural vulnerability that better teams will now look to exploit.
The bigger story of the night is the emergence of Praful Hinge and Sakib Hussain. Two debutants combining for eight wickets in an IPL match is virtually unprecedented at this level. Their performance does not just strengthen SRH’s bowling options — it fundamentally changes the complexion of their season.
